Six months ago, Russia launched its aggressive war against Ukraine, also from Belarusian territory. In the previous months, ruler Lukashenko also tolerated a Russian troop deployment. All of that seems forgotten on Independence Day.
Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko congratulated Ukraine on Independence Day and stressed his commitment to "friendly" and good-neighborly relations. Lukashenko said he was convinced that "the current contradictions" could not destroy the centuries-old relations between the peoples of Ukraine and Belarus. Belarus will continue to work "for the preservation of harmony and the development of friendly contacts based on mutual respect at all levels," said Lukashenko.
The streets of Kyiv were unusually empty on Wednesday after repeated warnings of possible rocket attacks by Russia on Ukrainian cities around Independence Day. Public gatherings are banned in Kyiv; A curfew was in place in the city of Kharkiv in the east of the country, which had recently been heavily contested.
In the morning, the Ukrainian military again warned the population to be careful. "The Russian occupiers continue to carry out air and missile attacks on civilian targets on the territory of Ukraine," the General Staff said. "Don't ignore the air raid warnings." Ukrainian President Zelenskyy also repeated his warnings on Tuesday evening and spoke of possible "disgusting Russian provocations".
On Ukrainian Independence Day, the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine was six months ago. Russia had started this from several directions, including from Belarusian territory. In the previous months, Lukashenko had tolerated a Russian troop deployment in his country, officially for military maneuvers. Belarus is financially and politically heavily dependent on Russia.
