Putin considers Belarus as just another region of the Russian Federation, - Zelenskyy

Putin considers Belarus as just another region of the Russian Federation, - Zelenskyy

The Russian dictator Vladimir Putin "clearly considers Belarus to be just another region of Russia."

This was stated by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on February 15 during his speech at the Munich Security Conference.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that Kyiv "has credible intelligence that this summer Russia plans to send troops to Belarus under the pretext of military exercises."

— But it is just like how they deployed troops before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago. Are these Russian forces in Belarus intended for an attack on Ukraine? Maybe. Or maybe not. Or perhaps they are meant for you?

Volodymyr Zelenskyy reminded that Belarus borders three NATO countries.

— It (Belarus. — Ed.) has essentially become a staging ground for Russian military operations. Accordingly, according to Putin and Lukashenko, Belarus has now accepted banned weapons. Medium-range missiles and even nuclear weapons. Putin clearly considers Belarus part of Russia. And we must be realistic, if someone is creating a military staging ground, we must ask ourselves what are we going to do about it? And more importantly — what can we do before the next attack, the next invasion? — said Zelenskyy.