Russian President Vladimir Putin has landed in Belarus for his first visit to the country in three years to meet with his counterpart.
The Kremlin said in a statement that Putin arrived in Minsk on Monday ahead of an expected meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
The two leaders “will discuss key aspects of the further development of Russian-Belarusian strategic partnership and alliance with a focus on the integration within the Union State, as well as current issues on the international and regional agenda,” the Kremlin said.
Ahead of the meeting, Lukashenko struck a defiant tone by indicating the situation was “escalating” and stressing his country’s sovereignty amid growing concerns that Belarus could be pulled into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“I would like to emphasize this feature once again: no one, except us, governs Belarus. These are our functions under the Constitution, including mine. We are implementing these functions,” Lukashenko said on Friday.
Belarus aided Moscow early in the war by serving as a staging ground for Russian troops, and in October Belarus deployed thousands of troops in joint military drills with Russia.
That step renewed fears that Belarus could inject its forces into Ukraine, but Lukashenko has resisted doing so thus far.
Lukashenko on Friday indicated the main topic of his meeting with Putin would center on economics, although he acknowledged the two leaders will also discuss defense and security in the region.
Russia in recent weeks has increasingly taken aim at Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, including launching one of the biggest waves of strikes on Friday.
Ukrainian officials said the capital city of Kyiv suffered additional strikes early Monday morning, although those explosions appeared to cause no fatalities despite causing damage to critical infrastructure.
