Kyiv again the goal?

Ukraine prepares for new Russian attack from Belarus

Created: 01/10/2023, 20:20

By: Andreas Schmid

Two men stand next to buildings damaged in an attack in Kyiv in early January.

© Renata Brito/AP/dpa

Breaking news from Kyiv: The Ukrainian capital is preparing for new Russian attacks – from Belarus of all places.

All information in the news ticker.

• Ukraine

  prepares for possible

  Kiev attack

  : Attack from Belarus?

• Russian advances

  in

  Donbass

  : Wagner mercenaries advance in Soledar.

• This

  news ticker

  on the military situation in the

  Ukraine war

  is constantly

  updated

  .

Kyiv – The Ukrainian military is preparing for a possible new attack by Russian ground forces in the direction of the capital Kyiv.

Russian soldiers are said to be moving to Kyiv from Belarus, of all places.

Recently, there had been repeated speculation about a Belarusian entry into the war.

Belarus ruler Alexander Lukashenko met his confidant Vladimir Putin in December - but denied any war plans.

Kyiv, in turn, is now preparing precisely for such an attack.

The reports reached the world community on the day that Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock made a surprise trip to eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine prepares for possible Kyiv attack: Attack from Belarus?

Defense positions in the north of the country have already been prepared or reinforced, said Lieutenant General Oleksiy Pavlyuk, who is responsible for the defense of Kiev.

In order to prevent rapid tank advances by Russian units, larger minefields were laid at all points accessible to tanks.

If the attackers could not get through these barriers, it would be easier for Ukrainian artillery to smash the troop concentrations.

Right at the beginning of the Russian war of aggression in February last year, the Ukrainian armed forces repulsed an advance by Russian troops from Belarus towards Kyiv.

A column of Russian tanks and vehicles many kilometers long was decimated in the dense forests north of Kyiv and forced to retreat.

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Russian advances in Donbass: Wagner mercenaries advance in Soledar

The Ukrainian leadership fears another attack by the Russian army, which has been stationing stronger units along the Ukrainian border in Belarus for several weeks.

Military experts believe that Russian units in Belarus are not yet strong enough to launch such an attack.

Nevertheless, they are tying down Ukrainian troops, who are missing on other front sectors as a result, for example in the Donbass region of Soledar near Bakhmut.

British intelligence reported on Tuesday Russian gains in the region.

Regular Russian troops and Wagner units have made tactical advances over the past four days.

They probably controlled most of the place.

According to Ukrainian sources, Russia has now shelled the city 86 times, saying it was "virtually destroyed".

Wagner fighters belonging to Putin's friend Yevgeny Prigozhin ("Putin's cook") have been trying in vain for months to take the city of Bakhmut.

Now they could achieve a decisive turn in the struggle for the strategically important Donbass city.