Belarus Signs of détente between Kiev and Minsk
Surprising easing of tensions on the border between Ukraine and Russia's ally Belarus.
14.07.2024, 06:15
SDA
After a steady build-up of troops on both sides of the border, Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko gave the all-clear during a visit by troops and declared the confrontation over. According to the state agency Belta, he referred to the withdrawal of Ukrainian units from the region. "Now we have no complications with the Ukrainians, and I hope that there won't be any," he was quoted as saying by Belta.
At the same time, Lukashenko announced the withdrawal of units that had been deployed to the Ukrainian-Belarusian border in recent weeks. The Ministry of Defense in Minsk issued the corresponding orders to the affected units in the evening. This was done on the instructions of the President, said Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin. "We are starting to fulfill this task immediately."
Lukashenko had recently reinforced the border units due to alleged troop gatherings on the Ukrainian side of the common border and alleged provocations. Kiev, on the other hand, claimed that Ukrainian units had merely expanded their defensive positions along the border.
At the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine in February 2022, Belarus had allowed the deployment of Russian units from its territory.
Kremlin spokesperson: "Potential victims are the capitals"
Meanwhile, the Kremlin indirectly threatened the West with a harsh response to the planned deployment of large-scale US weapons in Europe. "Of course" Moscow would respond to this deployment, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov in response to a question from a Russian television journalist. "There has always been a paradoxical situation: the US has deployed missiles of various ranges and calibers, and these have traditionally always been aimed against our country." Russia, on the other hand, has aimed its missiles at targets in Europe.
"Our country is in the crosshairs of American missiles in Europe," Peskov was quoted as saying by the state agency Tass. "We've been through all this before, it's happened before." However, Russia has the ability to deter these missiles. "But the potential victims are the capitals of these states," he added threateningly.
Kiev attacks with drones
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military claimed a new strike against a fuel depot in Russia. The warehouse in the Zimlyansk district in the Rostov-on-Don region was set on fire by drones, the Ukrainian agency Unian reported, citing informed sources.
Around 12,500 cubic meters of fuel had gone up in flames in the warehouse. The information could not be independently verified. There was no information from the Russian side.
"The drones of the Ukrainian security service are continuing their precision attacks against Russia's energy complex, which is supporting the war against Ukraine," Unian quoted an unnamed representative of the secret service as saying. Ukraine has already attacked almost three dozen refineries and fuel depots on Russian territory in recent weeks.
As Ukraine is not yet allowed to use long-range weapons from Western supplies against targets on Russian territory, drones with lower explosive power are being used against selected targets.
Deaths in Russian attacks
At least four people were killed in a series of Russian attacks against civilian targets in eastern and southern Ukraine. Two people died in an attack against the Kherson region in southern Ukraine, as reported by Ukrainian media.
According to military administrator Oleh Synyehubov, two people were also killed and 22 others injured by Russian attacks in the Kharkiv region in north-eastern Ukraine. The Russian military had shelled a train station and railroad facilities there.
