April 17 (Reuters) – President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday Ukraine believed Russia was preparing to signal it would again try to draw its ally Belarus into the four-year-old war between Kiev and Moscow.
Zelensky made the comments on the Telegram messaging app in response to what he said was an intelligence report issued by Ukraine’s top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi.
“According to intelligence, the road to Ukraine is under construction and artillery positions are being established in the Belarusian border area,” Zelensky wrote.
“We believe Russia will once again try to involve Belarus in the war.”
Zelensky said Ukraine had issued instructions warning Belarusian leaders that “Ukraine is ready to defend its lands and independence.”
He also said intelligence showed Russia was “trying to … reorganize its forces – most likely to make up for personnel shortages.”
“In this regard, the reasons for the increased activity of the armed forces on the territory of Belarus become even more apparent.” He did not provide further evidence.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, one of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin’s closest allies, allowed his territory to be used as part of Russia’s February 2022 invasion of its smaller neighbor.
Lukashenko, who came to power in 1994, said he had no intention of sending troops to the Ukrainian war.
But Belarus, which borders NATO members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, has since agreed to deploy Russian tactical nuclear weapons and Russian hypersonic Oreshnik missiles.
Lukashenko has long been subject to Western sanctions over his support for the war in Ukraine and accusations of human rights abuses.
But the United States has been seeking to improve relations with Belarus and has worked to secure the release of detainees considered political prisoners by the West, with 250 released last month.
The United States said it had agreed to lift some sanctions but made clear to Belarusian leaders that it would not facilitate other forms of sanctions evasion or support for the war in Ukraine.
(Reporting by Ron Popesky and Oleksandr Kozuhar; Editing by Edward Tobin)
