Belarus Just Became a Putin Puppet And For What?
Putin's country is on the brink of financial ruin thanks to global sanctions and it looks like Belarus was feeling left out. Belarusian troops joined the war Tuesday in the Chernihiv region.
In a tweet posted on Tuesday morning, Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, said it had confirmed earlier reports that Belarusian troops were on Ukrainian soil.
“Belarusian troops have entered Chernihiv region. The information was confirmed to the public by Vitaliy Kyrylov, spokesman for the North Territorial Defense Forces. More details later,” the tweet said.
According to local reports, a Belarusian column of 33 units had entered the region, located north of Kyiv, with mobile communications cut.
The Belarus dictator Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko is a dear friend to Putin and perhaps the only one he has left—If China is to be believed that they do not support Putin's invasion. Lukashenko likes to call himself the 'last dictator in Europe'.
The White House released a fresh round of sanctions on Russia Wednesday as well as its ally, Belarus, for supporting Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
Export restrictions on technology and software that are currently in place for Russia will be extended to Belarus, in a move that will "significantly degrade both countries’ ability to sustain their military aggression and project power," the White House said.
Russian forces started invading Ukraine from the north through Belarus last week. A referendum was also approved in Belarus on Sunday that revoked the country's non-nuclear status, potentially opening the door for Russian nukes to be deployed in the country.
