Belarus To Join Russia's War On Ukraine Within Hours
By Donald Standeford, Correspondent - Follow -
Date Published: February 28, 2022 03:20AM UTC
Last Modified: February 28, 2022 03:20AM UTC
BELARUS - Russia's war on Ukraine has failed to provide Russia a quick and decisive victory after four days of fighting, so Russia is reportedly pulling their ally Belarus in on the conflict, according to Ukrainian news, The Kyiv Independent.
The Kyiv Independent says that multiple sources tell them the decision has already been made and that as soon as February 28th at 5AM local time, the first Ilyushin Il-76 transport aircraft is 'very likely' to take off carrying Belarusian paratroopers to be deployed in Ukraine in support of Russia's war on the country.
The paper says that it's not clear whether the 'local time' referred to is Belarusian or Ukrainian time. 5AM in Minsk,Belarus is 4AM in Kyiv, Ukraine so there is a one hour time difference between the two countries.
The Kyiv Independent says that the Belarusian troops may be deployed to the Kyiv or Zhytomyr areas in order to assist Russia's invading forces, but says that the report they have obtained on the location hasn't been verified, though there have been other indications of Belarusian military activity.
A former high-ranking Belarusian airborne commander Valeriy Sakhashik put out a video address urging all Belarusian paratroopers not to obey 'unlawful orders that would throw them into a war against a friendly nation' and several thousand Belarusian citizens rallied against the war across the country on February 27th.
the paper says that Belarus around 45,000 military personnel and 20,000 civilian employees, and that only 17,000 Belarusian military personnel are of 'considerable combat efficiency'.
Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Andriy Zagorodnyuk said that the Belarusian dictator highly depends on Putin to maintain his position of power and has no choice but to join Putin's war on Ukraine.
Zagorodnyuk said "But the Belarusian military has no combat experience, at all. It really matters. And they are not motivated, they do not really understand what they will be doing in Ukraine".
"If god forbid, Lukashenko gives an order to go in, I hope many would refuse to shoot at Ukrainians. Otherwise, this will be a historic tragedy between the two peoples" he stated.
