The attack took place the day Putin hosted Belarusian leader Lukashenko in Russia.In a statement made on the Facebook account of the Ukrainian army, “The Chernihiv region was subjected to intense missile bombardment at 5 am local time. 20 rockets fired from Belarusian territory and from the air targeted the village of Desna. ‘ it was said. In the statement, it was stated that there was no information about any loss of life in the region so far.
The village of Desna, where 7,500 people lived before the war, is 70 kilometers away from Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. The distance of the village to the Belarusian border of Ukraine is about 70 kilometers.
The attack took place between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his close ally, his Belarusian counterpart Aleksandr Lukashenko, in St. The day he was to meet in St. Petersburg took place. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is also expected to hold talks in Belarus on Thursday and Friday.
“Russia’s effort to draw Belarus into the war”
“Today’s attack is directly linked to the Kremlin’s efforts to draw Belarus as a party to the war in Ukraine,” the Ukrainian intelligence service said.
The intelligence service affiliated with the Ministry of Defense made the said statement via Telegram.
Belarus’ role in the war
Although Belarus is not officially among the warring parties at the moment, it provided significant logistical support to Russia, especially in the early stages of the invasion. Due to its role in the war, various sanctions are imposed on Belarus by Western countries, just like Russia.
Before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, it held a joint military exercise with Belarus. This exercise allowed Russia to build up more troops near the Ukrainian border. Ukraine’s territory near the Belarusian border was among the areas that Russia attacked in the early stages of the invasion. However, Russian attacks later concentrated on the eastern and southeastern parts of Ukraine.
Russia: 80 Polish mercenaries killed
In a statement made today by the Russian Ministry of Defense, it was announced that around 80 Polish “mercenaries” were killed in the attacks on the Megatex zinc factory in the city of Konstantinovka in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.
The ministry stated that 20 armored combat vehicles and eight Grad multiple rocket launch pads were also destroyed in the attacks.
DW,AFP / CO,ET