Ukraine to beef up northern defences over Russian offensive plans
Ukraine Responds to Potential Northern Threats
Reinforcements and Intelligence Analysis
KYIV, May 20 (Reuters) - Ukraine will send reinforcements to its northern regions and step up diplomatic pressure on Belarus to counter what Kyiv believes are Russian plans to launch a new offensive north of the capital, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.
Zelenskiy said Kyiv had become aware of five scenarios Russia had drawn up to expand the war through the north.
"We analysed in detail the available data from our intelligence agencies on Russia's planning of offensive operations in the Chernihiv-Kyiv direction," Zelenskiy said on X, referring to a city north of the capital on the highway to Belarus. "Our forces in this sector will be increased."
Heightened Alert at the Belarus Border
In recent weeks, Zelenskiy has given fresh warnings about a potential threat to Ukraine's north from Belarus, a close Russian ally. He has said Ukraine recorded unusual activity at the border, without providing details.
Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine's top army commander, said on Tuesday that Kyiv had data that the Russian General Staff was actively calculating and planning offensive operations from the north.
There was no immediate comment from Russia or Belarus.
Threat from Belarus and Diplomatic Measures
Moscow's Influence on Minsk
Zelenskiy said that Moscow was trying to draw Belarus, which allowed Russian troops to march on Ukraine through its territory in 2022, deeper into the war.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry would prepare "additional measures of diplomatic influence regarding Belarus", he added, without specifying.
Ongoing Concerns and Consequences
Speaking later in his nightly video address, Zelenskiy said it was "already tiresome that there is constantly such a threat to Ukraine that the Russians may at some point drag Belarus into an expansion of the war.
"They should understand there will be consequences for them and they will be significant."
Historical Context and Current Situation
In the initial full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine successfully repelled a huge Russian armoured column that attempted to attack Kyiv from the north.
Minsk has remained Moscow's staunchest supporter in the war. Russian drones have crossed Belarus while attacking Ukraine, and Minsk said it deployed the Russian Oreshnik intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile system.
"As of now, we haven’t detected any movement of equipment or personnel directly at our border, but of course, we can see the pressure Russia is putting on Belarus," Ukraine's border guards spokesman, Andriy Demchenko, told Ukrinform news agency on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Yuliia DysaEditing by Aidan Lewis, Peter Graff, Ron Popeski and Nick Zieminski)