Belarus vows to fight alongside Russia if war breaks out

The president of Belarus has vowed his country will fight alongside Russia should war break out with Ukraine

Alexander Lukashenko, the president, speaking on Friday, January 28, vowed that should Putin invade Ukraine then Belarus will fight alongside Russia. This statement comes despite the Kremlin saying it has no intention of invading its former territory.

“If there is an aggression against Belarus, there will be hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers, who, together with hundreds of thousands of Belorussians, will defend this land”, said Lukashenko.

Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister also said on Friday that Moscow “doesn’t want a war”. Lukashenko echoed Lavrov’s sentiment when he repeated that if there was any conflict, “there would be no winners”, adding, “everyone will lose everything”.

Minks and Moscow are steadfast allies. During the protests that took place following his disputed re-election in 2020, it was Putin who provided Lukashenko with key support.

With the latest reports putting the number of troops massed on Ukraine’s border at an estimated 150,000, both NATO and the US have warned that Russia is intent on invading in the foreseeable future.

Lavrov, and Moscow, have constantly denied that Russia has any intention of invading Ukraine. Crimea had already been annexed back in 2014, and that eastern part of Ukraine, in territory around the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, is already controlled by armies of pro-Russian separatists.

The Kremlin continues to demand that Ukraine should not be allowed to join NATO, and has demanded assurances, which have not been forthcoming. They are also asking for the deployment of weapons in NATO countries bordering Russia to be stopped, as reported by euronews.com.

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