Russia, Belarus extend military exercises

Protesters carry a giant Ukrainian flag during a rally to show unity and support of Ukrainian integrity amid soaring tensions with Russia in the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa, yesterday. (AFP)

Russia will extend military drills in Belarus that were due to end yesterday, the Belarusian defence ministry announced, in a step US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said made him more worried about an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine. The defence ministry said the decision was taken because of military activity near the borders of Russia and Belarus as well as the situation in eastern Ukraine’s Donbass region. Sporadic shelling across the line dividing Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed separatists in that region increased sharply last week and continued yesterday. Speaking to CNN, Blinken said all signs suggested Russia was about to invade. Russia has repeatedly denied such plans. “Everything we are seeing suggests that this is dead serious, that we are on the brink of an invasion,” Blinken said, adding that the West was equally prepared if Moscow invades. “...Until the tanks are actually rolling, and the planes are flying, we will use every opportunity and every minute we have to see if diplomacy can still dissuade President (Vladimir) Putin from carrying this forward.” Putin and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, agreed in a phone call on the need for a diplomatic solution to the crisis in eastern Ukraine, both governments said. A French presidential adviser said the two agreed that a meeting of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), with representatives from Ukraine and Russia, should be held today. Poland, currently the OSCE chair, earlier said that at Ukraine’s request it was convening an extraordinary session of the council, which is dedicated to preventing armed conflict, today. Belarus did not say how long Russian troops in Belarus — estimated by Nato to number 30,000 — might now remain in the country, which lies north of Ukraine. Belarus Defence Minister Viktor Khrenin said the focus of the extended exercises was “to ensure an adequate response and de-escalation of military preparations of ill-wishers near our common borders”. The Kremlin did not comment on the Belarus drills. The Macron adviser said that Putin had reiterated that the troops would leave Belarus after the exercises. Nato says Russia could use the troops in Belarus as part of an invasion force to attack Ukraine. Moscow denies any such intention. “It is not an exaggeration to say that Europe is a step away from war, which was something unimaginable not long ago,” Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said in a TV interview. Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, told Reuters the extension of the exercises underlined that official promises from Moscow should not be taken as binding. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the repeated warnings by the West that Russia was about to invade were provocative and could have adverse consequences, which he did not spell out. Russia says the West has raised tensions by sending Nato reinforcements to eastern Europe during the crisis. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a BBC interview that sanctions could include restrictions on Russian businesses’ access to the dollar and the pound. However, he acknowledged such threats may not deter Moscow. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said it was time for the West to implement at least part of the sanctions it has prepared. “Russia has to be stopped right now. We see how events are unfolding,” Kuleba said. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called yesterday for an immediate ceasefire in the eastern part of the country. Macron blamed the separatists for the renewed hostilities, while Putin blamed Ukraine, the French presidential adviser said. Yesterday, a Reuters reporter heard explosions in the centre of Donetsk city in the eastern Donbass region controlled by separatists. Heavy shelling was heard elsewhere in the region.