Putin calls Lukashenko to discuss ‘threats coming from the West’
Russian President Vladimir Putin called Alexander Lukashenko and discussed with him "external threats from the Western direction,"reported the Telegram channel "Pool of The First" close to Lukashenko's press service.
It is noted that the presidents spoke for about half an hour and decided that "it is in the interests of both countries to develop integration processes and strengthen multifaceted cooperation."
"One of the main themes: epidemiology. Focus on vaccination and vaccine production. Separately, we discussed the situation around Belarus and external threats, which are originating from the Western direction (in particular from Poland and the United States)," the statement reads.
The presidents of the United States and Ukraine Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelensky held the first telephone conversation amid the escalation of hostilities in eastern Ukraine and Russia's military buildup on Ukraine’s borders. The U.S. President assured that the United States will support Ukraine.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Ruslan Khomchak, said during his speech in the Ukrainian parliament that Russia was deploying troops and weapons to the Ukrainian borders. Russian troops are concentrated in annexed Crimea, as well as in the Rostov, Bryansk and Voronezh regions.
On the same day, at an extraordinary meeting, the Parliament of Ukraine adopted a statement on the escalation of the Russian-Ukrainian armed conflict, thus openly recognizing that Ukraine is at war with Russia.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry's General Intelligence Directorate said that Russia is ready for large-scale provocations, including an offensive deep into the territory of Ukraine. After that, the ambassadors of NATO countries held a meeting to discuss the buildup of Russian troops near the Ukrainian borders. They also discussed the recent escalation in the Donbas.