Russia-Belarus begin joint navy workouts, sparking concern in Kyiv of latest offensive

Russia and Belarus started joint navy workouts on Monday, which have triggered fears in Kyiv and the West that Moscow might use its ally to launch a brand new floor offensive in Ukraine.

Ukrainian servicemen put together an anti-aircraft gun to fireplace in direction of Russian positions on a entrance line close to the city of Bakhmut, amid Russia’s assault on Ukraine, in Donetsk area (Reuters)

By Reuters:

Russia and Belarus started joint navy workouts on Monday, which have triggered fears in Kyiv and the West that Moscow might use its ally to launch a brand new floor offensive in Ukraine.

Russia used its neighbour Belarus as a springboard for its invasion of Ukraine final February.

The two allies will conduct air pressure drills from January 16 to February 1 utilizing all Belarus navy airfields and commenced joint military workouts involving a “mechanised brigade subdivision” on Monday, the Belarusian defence ministry stated.

Minsk says the air drills are defensive, and it’ll not enter the struggle.

“We’re maintaining restraint and patience, keeping our gunpowder dry,” stated Pavel Muraveyko, first deputy state secretary of Belarusian Security Council, in line with a put up on the Belarusian defence ministry’s Telegram app on Sunday.

Muraveyko stated the state of affairs on the nation’s southern border with Ukraine was “not very calm” and that Ukraine has been “provoking” Belarus.

Also Read: Will solely intensify the battle: Russia after Rishi Sunak says UK to provide tanks to Ukraine

“We are ready for any provocative actions on the part of Ukraine,” he stated.

Moscow denies that it has been pressuring Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to take a extra energetic position within the battle in Ukraine.

Ukraine has constantly warned of potential assaults from Belarus and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated final week that the nation have to be prepared at its border with Belarus.

Belarus has carried out quite a few navy workouts because the invasion started, each by itself and collectively with Russia. Together with Moscow, Minsk has additionally been bolstering the drills with weaponry and navy gear.

Unofficial Telegram navy monitoring channels have been reporting a sequence of fighters, helicopters and navy transport planes coming to Belarus because the begin of the 12 months – eight fighters and 4 cargo planes on Sunday alone.

Reuters was not capable of confirm the reviews. The Belarusian defence ministry stated solely that “units” of Russia’s air forces have been arriving in Belarus.

Also Read: Russian missile assault hits infrastructure in Kyiv, explosions in Dniprovskiy

LITTLE HOPE OF MORE SURVIVORS

Ukraine noticed little hope of pulling any extra survivors from the rubble of an residence block within the metropolis of Dnipro on Sunday, a day after the constructing was hit throughout a serious Russian missile assault, with dozens of individuals anticipated to have died.

Valentyn Reznichenko, governor of the Dnipropetrovsk area, stated on Monday that 35 individuals had been confirmed useless up to now and the destiny of 35 extra residents remained unknown.

“The search for people underneath the rubble continues,” Reznichenko stated on the Telegram messaging app.

Ukraine’s Air Force stated the residence block was struck by a Russian Kh-22 missile, which is understood to be inaccurate and that Ukraine lacks the air defences to shoot down. The Soviet-era missile was developed through the Cold War to destroy warships.

Moscow has been pounding Ukraine’s power infrastructure with missiles and drones since October, inflicting sweeping blackouts and disruptions to central heating and working water.

In his nightly handle after the Dnipro strike, Zelenskiy known as on Western allies to provide extra weapons to finish “Russian terror” and assaults on civilian targets.

On Saturday, Britain adopted France and Poland with guarantees of additional weapons, saying it might ship 14 of its Challenger 2 fundamental battle tanks in addition to different superior artillery help within the coming weeks.

The first dispatch of Western-made tanks to Ukraine is prone to be considered by Moscow as an escalation of the battle. The Russian Embassy in London stated the tanks would drag out the confrontation.

Russia’s invasion, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”, has already killed hundreds, displaced tens of millions and turned many cities into rubble.

WAVES OF MISSILES

In Ukraine’s japanese Donbas area – the focus of Russia’s drive to seize extra territory – Ukraine’s forces had been battling across the small salt-mining city of Soledar.

Russian forces claimed to have taken management of the city, however Ukraine insisted on Sunday that its forces had been battling to carry the city, with road combating raging and Russian forces advancing from numerous instructions.

“Put simply, THE BATTLE CONTINUES,” Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar stated on the Telegram messaging app. “Everything else is unverified information.”

The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War stated it was extremely unlikely that Ukrainian forces nonetheless held positions inside Soledar itself.

Also Read: Russia claims capturing of Soledar, Ukraine denies

THE GENERAL STAFF OF UKRAINE’S

Armed Forces morning report on Monday detailed one other wave of greater than 55 Russian missile and rocket assaults up to now 24 hours.

It stated 25 settlements within the Bakhmut space, together with the cities of Soledar and Bakhmut itself, had been hit, together with numerous targets, together with civilian infrastructure, within the Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk and Kherson areas.

Published On:

Jan 16, 2023