Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky assured this Tuesday that Kiev never intended to attack Belarus, calling on the neighboring country not to enter an “absolutely shameful” war on the side of the Russian invader.
According to the Belarusian news agency Belta, the Ukrainian president reacted to the statements of the Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, who suggested that Ukraine continue training “military personnel and extremists” while “suggesting signing a non-aggression pact”.
“We do not intend to attack Belarus. This is the main signal that all Ukrainian people send to the Belarusian people,” said Zelensky, who appealed to the neighboring country “not to lose its independence”.
Zelensky urged the Belarusian authorities “respect Ukraine” and to prevent military personnel from third countries – in allusion to Russia – from entering Ukrainian territory, according to the Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform.
Ukrainian authorities recently warned of the possibility that Russia could launch a ground offensive through Belarus, although they ruled out the involvement of the Belarusian army itself.
The military offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 has so far led to the flight of more than 14 million people – 6.5 million internally displaced persons and nearly eight million to European countries – according to the latest data from the UN, which classifies this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
Currently, 17.7 million Ukrainians need humanitarian aid and 9.3 million need food aid and shelter.
The invasion, justified by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russian security, was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending weapons to Minsk, and political and political impose economic sanctions on Moscow.
The UN presented 7,068 dead civilians and 11,415 wounded as confirmed since the start of the war, underlining that these numbers are far below the actual ones.
Source: DN
