KHARKIV – Ukraine will closely monitor joint Russian-Belarusian strategic military drills, dubbed Zapad 2017 (West 2017) because they could threaten Ukraine’s territorial integrity, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said.
“We are looking at the drills with great interest because we see a potential threat, including a threat to Ukraine’s territorial integrity,” Poroshenko said during a briefing in Kharkiv on Sept. 1.
The president said he had received assurances from Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko that Ukraine should not be worried about Russian aggression from Belarus.
“During Lukashenko’s visit to Kyiv we discussed this question and we received assurances that there would be no threats to Ukraine from Belarus. I hope this promise will be kept. I have no reason to doubt this,” Poroshenko said.
