Ukrainian soldiers are apparently to be made to desert in the border region with Belarus (symbolic image). © Mykhaylo Palinchak/imago
Enemies don't actually eat a meal together. From Belarus, however, an invitation to the Ukrainians is now apparently coming.
Minsk – The suffering in the Ukraine war is immeasurable, and there is no end in sight to the violence in the war zone. Nevertheless, the Ukraine war is also producing strange blossoms. The Ukrainian Kyiv Post now reports on a bizarre attempt at manipulation: Ukrainian soldiers are apparently to be persuaded to desert with soup.
The newspaper cites the anecdote on a video circulated by Ukrainian reporter Andriy Tsaplienko on Wednesday (31 May). Initially, the information could not be independently verified. But the setting of the clip is supposed to be a Belarusian border post – and over loudspeakers, the Ukrainian soldiers are invited to eat borscht there in Ukrainian. Borscht is a common dish in both Ukraine and Belarus.
Belarusian call to desert? "Come to our side"
The announcement, according to the Kyiv Post, was as follows: "Ukrainian border troops! Do not forget that Belarusian and Ukrainian borscht are very similar to each other." In addition, the woman's voice further emphasizes that Ukrainian and Belarusian borscht are the soups of "neighbors and relatives." The following are preparation tips for both soup variants (more potatoes in the Belarusian one).
She continues to list the similarities between the two populations by the symbol of borscht, until she finally ends her announcement with the appeal: "And when the time comes when no one offers you borscht – then come to our side and try our Belarusian borscht. You won't regret it!"
Does Putin's ally Lukashenko know about the borscht invitation?
"Most Ukrainians blame the Lukashenko regime for the Russian invasion," the Kyiv Post emphasizes in its report, evaluating the soup offer as a call to desert in the Ukraine war. Here is the video in question on Telegram.
Belarus' ruler Alexander Lukashenko is an ally of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in the Ukraine war. According to Lukashenko, Russia began transferring tactical nuclear weapons to his country last week. Putin had announced the deployment in the neighboring country at the end of March and said that there was "nothing unusual" about it.
The German government had declared that it would not be deterred in its support of Ukraine by this "attempt at nuclear intimidation". (frs)
