Ukraine claims to have been targeted by missiles launched from Belarus – DW – 06/25/2022
2 min read
Ukraine was the target of several bombings on Saturday (25/06). Kyiv said some of the missiles were launched from Russia’s ally Belarus. The attacks hit several cities such as Lviv, Mykolaiv, Chernigov, Sumy and the Dnipropetrovsk region.
According to the Ukrainian General Staff, the bombers that hit Zhytomyr and Chernigov took off from Belarus. The former Soviet republic led by dictator Alexander Lukashenko declared itself neutral in the conflict.
The Northern Command of the Ukrainian forces reported that “at about five o’clock in the morning, the Chernigov region was subjected to intense missile bombardment. Twenty missiles hit the village of Desna, fired from the territory of Belarus,” adding that “there were no casualties.” One “infrastructure” was affected, without indicating whether it was a military facility or not.
Ukraine said the shots were fired by Russian forces and came from Petrykau in southern Belarus.
Kyiv accuses Russia of trying to drag Belarus into the war. The attack comes on the same day that Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet Lukashenko in St Petersburg. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will travel to Belarus at the end of next week.
Although not officially participating in the war, Belarus provided logistical support to Moscow’s forces, especially in the first weeks of the Russian offensive. The state led by Lukashenko, since 1994, has been the target of Western sanctions, also applied against Russia.
Lukashenko accused the West of being “at war with Russia” and elevating “Nazis to the rank of state ideology” for its military and financial support for Ukraine. He also called for Belarus to be involved in negotiations to end the conflict.
cn (dpa, Lusa, AFP)
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