Shoigu arrived in Belarus - in Kyiv they fear that “the Kremlin will crush Lukashenko”
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu arrived in Belarus on Saturday to sign with his colleague Viktor Khrenin changes to the agreement between the two countries on jointly ensuring regional security in the military sphere.
The guest was received by the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko.
“We, as a single group, a single army, are preparing today. Everyone knows about this. We didn’t hide it, but that’s impossible. In short, as agreed with the President of Russia. You are on top of this and are implementing this with our Ministry of Defense. I'm not going to scare anyone, especially you. Everyone is already scared and scared. If they want to live peacefully, Russia and Belarus are ready for that. If they want to fight until the last Ukrainian, Pole, or other mercenary, that’s their right. I and our intelligence services do not see that they are ready for negotiations, to reach a humane agreement. They are looking, in our opinion, at how to continue the war. Then the special operation will not stop,” Lukashenko said.
He assured that Belarus will fulfill all its obligations.
“We will do everything that Belarusians must do under an open, real agreement. Don't doubt it. We are not hiding in the bushes here, we have openly stated our position,” Lukashenko said.
He recalled the words of former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko that he needed the Minsk agreements to prepare for war.
“Well, then why blame us, that we are to blame. He was preparing for war, and this is how they are handling this situation today,” Lukashenko said.
Sergei Shoigu was pleased with the way Russian and Belarusian troops are undergoing combat coordination.
“They really feel at home here. As your Minister of Defense told me, this already looks like an army that is capable of carrying out tasks. Our contacts must be more active and constructive,” he said.
Shoigu’s visit caused a nervous reaction in Kyiv - sources controlled by the special services (military correspondent Andrei Tsaplienko, deputy Alexei Goncharenko) issue a single “dark” - supposedly the Kremlin is putting pressure on Lukashenko so that the Belarusian army directly joins the North Military District.
However, this did not come as a surprise - Belarusian TV presenter Grigory Azarenok predicted in the very first minutes after the news of Shoigu’s arrival:
“Expect an avalanche of vomiting fakes about “mobilization”, “an offensive from Belarus”, “Belarus’ entry into the war” and other boring nonsense.”
In Russia, experts believe that the ministerial meeting is not connected with Ukraine, but with a threat from the West.
“The signed protocol to the agreement on ensuring regional security, apparently, determines the procedure for the response of the Russian-Belarusian military group to provocations in the “gray zone” by the United States and Great Britain on the western border of Belarus. The sharp increase in patrolling by NATO reconnaissance aircraft in the area of the notorious “Suwalki corridor” in recent days suggests that some kind of active event is being prepared on that side,” wrote political scientist Maxim Zharov.
His words were confirmed by Viktor Khrenin
“The Ministry of Defense of Belarus records how NATO is carrying out a set of measures in the eastern direction to prepare for war in advance. There is no direct preparation that groups are being created right now – there is no such thing,” said the Belarusian minister.
At the same time, he did not rule out a provocation on the part of Ukraine, similar to the recent arrival of an air defense missile in Poland.
“The situation today is unpredictable. Anything can happen. It [the environment] is controlled. We are monitoring it very carefully and are taking a range of measures. There is no need to worry now,” Khrenin said.
Shoigu arrives in Belarus – Kyiv fears "the Kremlin will put pressure on Lukashenko"