Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko (left) with ally Vladimir Putin (Image: Getty)
Ukraine has identified 500 targets “already on the list” should Belarus enter Russia’s war, according to Kyiv’s drone chief. Robert “Magyar” Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, issued a stark warning to Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko – a staunch ally of Vladimir Putin – against joining the conflict.
Tensions between Kyiv and Minsk have escalated amid growing concerns that Russia might leverage Belarus to establish a fresh northern front against Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently cautioned Minsk about “consequences” should Kyiv experience any “aggressive actions” from its northern neighbor.
Describing Lukashenko as a “gauleiter,” Major Brovdi issued this warning to the Belarusian leader: “A barking dog does not bite. A bird of prey is different. The first 500 targets are already on the list.”
“Free and very practical advice: don’t get in Ukraine’s way,” he stated in a Facebook post, according to Ukrinform.
Russian president Vladimir Putin (Image: Getty)
The term gauleiter referred to a powerful regional leader in Nazi Germany appointed by Adolf Hitler and is occasionally used as a derogatory term.
Zelensky has indicated Ukraine’s readiness to implement “preventive” measures against Russia and the Belarusian leadership regarding potential military threats, reports the Express.
Lukashenko has rejected any intentions to draw Belarus into the war, unless “aggression is committed against [Belarusian] territory.”
He has also expressed willingness to meet with Zelensky, a proposal Ukraine has dismissed. Some Russian forces crossed into Ukraine from Belarus as Moscow initiated its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.
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Russia and Belarus maintain close military cooperation and recently concluded three days of nuclear exercises.
The drills involved 64,000 troops, over 200 missile launchers, more than 140 aircraft, 73 surface warships and 13 submarines, including eight armed with nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles, according to Russia’s defense ministry.
Belarus hosts Russian nuclear weapons, including the latest intermediate-range nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile system.
Recent British intelligence indicates nearly half a million Russian soldiers have been killed in the Ukraine war.
Anne Keast-Butler, head of the U.K. intelligence agency GCHQ, stated the figure demonstrates Putin’s war is “going backwards.”
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