On May 12, Ukrainian Defense Minister Andrii Taran stated that, for now, his country did not face any immediate danger of a Russian invasion through neighboring Belarus. Nonetheless, he assured that Kyiv was “meticulously monitoring the situation” and evaluating available plans for responding to such a contingency. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has long guaranteed that Ukraine has nothing to fear from the north; and clearly, in Kyiv’s estimation, those promises appear credible at least for the time being.
OP-ED
Grigory Ioffe: Belarusian political standoff
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) talks with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko (L) during their meeting in Sochi on Feb. 22, 2021.
