Lukashenko Wants to 'Take Action' with Putin Regarding Ukraine, While Putin Again Repeats 'Red Lines' Talk on Ukraine and NATO

Meanwhile, after the Zapad-2021 exercises, Russian troops remained in Belarus near the border with Ukraine.

The self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, said he intends to jointly 'take action' against Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin, at a time when Russian troops remain on the Belarus-Ukraine border after their joint exercises.

Lukashenko's Resolve

Lukashenko said that he agreed with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to take certain 'actions' against Ukraine in response to the alleged deployment of US military bases on Ukrainian territory.

Alexander Lukashenko
self-proclaimed president of Belarus

The situation in neighboring states is unfavorable for us. Moreover, the leadership of these countries has embarked on a course of confrontation with Belarus. We have very serious problems. Problems related to defense. The saddest thing is Ukraine. A new front, as they say in the old terms, is opening up for us... You see, they are dragging NATO troops there, into Ukraine. Under the guise of training centers, they are effectively creating bases. The United States is creating bases in Ukraine. It is clear that we need to respond to this.

Given Lukashenko's precarious position, it is most likely that he is making such speeches about Ukraine, often unconnected with reality, at Putin's direct instruction.

Alexander Lukashenko
self-proclaimed president of Belarus

The Russian president and I have held and continue to hold consultations on this issue and have agreed that some actions must be taken there. Otherwise, tomorrow we will have a situation on the Belarus-Russia border that is unacceptable to us, up to and including the deployment of missiles of appropriate range. We did not sign up for this and cannot allow it.

Lukashenko also claims that 'even Ukrainian border guards are discovering weapons caches near the border with Belarus, and this is suspicious. We see signs of indecent actions against Belarus.'

Lukashenko also made aggressive remarks about Poland: 'It is clear what Poland is in the EU. It is under the American umbrella. They cause the European Union no less problems than we have with the Poles, the Polish leadership. And they are pressuring the European Union, claiming that we are building some kind of hybrid attack against the European Union,' said the illegitimate one.

Putin's 'Red Lines' and Kuleba's Response

Putin, in turn, resumed repeating his old propaganda mantra that NATO's arrival in Ukraine is a 'red line.' This time, he was alarmed by the probable expansion of NATO infrastructure on Ukrainian territory. 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin told Lukashenko during talks that expanding NATO infrastructure onto Ukrainian territory means crossing the line for Moscow.

Asked what countermeasures Russia and Belarus might take in response to NATO's expansion, Peskov noted that these would be some 'actions to ensure the security of the two states'.

Dmitry Peskov
Putin's press secretary

The topic of potential expansion of NATO military infrastructure onto Ukrainian territory has been repeatedly raised by President Putin. President Putin said this lies beyond the very red lines he had repeatedly spoken of earlier.

Ukraine's response was not long in coming: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said that Putin's 'red lines' can have a place only on Russian territory.

Dmitry Kuleba
Foreign Minister of Ukraine

'Putin's red lines' are limited to the territory of the Russian Federation. On our side of the Russian-Ukrainian border, we will figure out for ourselves what to do in the interests of the Ukrainian people and the security of Ukraine and Europe.

New Troops on the Border with Ukraine

Although the joint Belarusian-Russian military exercises Zapad-2021 have ended, Russian troops remain in Belarus near the border with Ukraine, creating a new flashpoint on Ukraine's northern side.

Thus, the Ukrainian military command has not recorded a mass return of Russian army battalion tactical groups to their permanent deployment sites.

Valerii Zaluzhnyi
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Although state television officially showed the ceremonial closing of the exercises on September 16 (ed. note), as of today we have not recorded a mass return to permanent deployment sites of those battalion tactical groups that were brought in as reinforcements. And there were 19 of them as of today, which appeared additionally, primarily during these exercises, both on the territory of the Republic of Belarus and on the territory of the Russian Federation.

According to Zaluzhnyi, these battalion tactical groups continue to carry out tasks in Russia's Southern Military District. According to the commander, each such group numbers about a thousand people.

'They are not standing with automatic rifles along our border. They are in the relevant areas close to the state border,' he clarified.

Zaluzhnyi added that some military personnel returned to their deployment sites to vote in the Russian State Duma elections, so some movements are being recorded, 'but we cannot relax completely today.'