Belarus’ exiled opposition leader visited Kyiv on Monday as the Ukrainian capital recovered from Russia’s largest missile assault of the year, while international leaders closely watched how much support the Belarusian government is prepared to offer Moscow’s full-scale invasion.
Russia and its ally Belarus conducted joint nuclear drills last week. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has recently warned that Belarus could serve as a staging ground for Russia to open a new front in northern Ukraine. Some Russian troops entered Ukraine from Belarusian territory at the start of the invasion on February 24, 2022.
In a further indication of concern, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Sunday about the war in Ukraine, their first call since the conflict began.
Russia Warns of More ‘Systemic Strikes’
Further “systemic strikes” on Kyiv are planned, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday. It urged foreign citizens, including diplomatic personnel, to leave the city as soon as possible and advised residents to avoid military and government facilities.
The ministry described Friday’s deadly Ukrainian drone strike on a college dormitory in Starobilsk as “the final straw.” Ukraine stated that it only targeted assets supporting Russia’s invasion.
The Russian military remains engaged in a grueling and costly battle along the 1,250-kilometer (780-mile) front line, which mostly winds through eastern and southern Ukraine.
“Russia has reached a dead end on the battlefield, so it terrorizes Ukraine with deliberate strikes on city centers,” said Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, on X, referring to the weekend barrage that killed two people and damaged buildings across the Ukrainian capital.
With U.S.-manufactured air defense missiles in short supply due to the conflict in Iran, Russian missiles have become more difficult for Ukraine to intercept. Meanwhile, U.S. efforts to halt the fighting have stalled.
Nations Keep a Wary Eye on Belarus
During his call with Mr. Lukashenko, Mr. Macron “underscored the risks for Belarus of allowing itself to be dragged into Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine,” according to a presidential aide in the French leader’s office who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with presidential palace practices. Macron also spoke with Mr. Zelenskyy on Sunday.
Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, on her first visit to Kyiv, told The Associated Press on Sunday that “Lukashenko’s regime knows well what needs to be done to improve ties with the European Union, but it isn’t happening. Instead, hybrid attacks, nuclear blackmail and threats to the entire region continue.”
A brief readout released by the Belarusian presidential press service said the call with Mr. Macron occurred “on the French side’s initiative” and that the leaders discussed “regional issues” and Belarusian relations with the EU and France.
Mr. Lukashenko, who has ruled his country of roughly 9.5 million people with an iron fist for more than three decades, relies on the Kremlin for cheap energy, loans, and other support. Western countries have repeatedly imposed sanctions on Belarus, including for its crackdown on human rights and for allowing Moscow to use its territory to invade Ukraine.
More recently, Mr. Lukashenko has attempted to improve ties with the West. Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, Mr. Lukashenko has released hundreds of political prisoners as part of deals that lifted some U.S. sanctions.
Russia Strikes Ukraine with Hypersonic Missile
Sunday’s bombardment included Russia’s powerful hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missile, which can carry multiple warheads. Russian President Vladimir Putin has boasted that it can travel up to 10 times the speed of sound and evade air defense systems.
Mr. Zelenskyy said Ukrainian intelligence services had received warnings from the United States and European countries that Russia was preparing to launch an Oreshnik.
In addition to the two fatalities, at least 91 people were wounded in Sunday’s barrage, according to Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Administration.
Shattered glass covered sidewalks on Monday after Ukrainian authorities reported that the assault damaged buildings across the city, including near government offices, residential buildings, schools, and a market.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on Monday led ambassadors from more than 70 countries on a visit to the strike sites. He urged the international community to step up pressure on Moscow and ensure that Ukraine receives more air defense support.
In other developments:
Russia’s Federal Security Service said divers found magnetic mines attached to the hull of a liquefied petroleum gas tanker in the Russian Baltic port of Ust-Luga. The tanker Arrhenius was bound for Samsun, Turkey, it said, adding that the limpet mines were made in a NATO member country. Ukrainian officials made no immediate comment.
Meanwhile, a Russian missile hit a business in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Derhachi, killing two people and wounding 19 others on Monday, said Kharkiv regional administration head Oleh Syniehubov. Seventeen people were hospitalized.
