Belarus, a key Kremlin ally, asks Russia for nuclear weapons. The request came after the country's leader, Alexander Lukashenko, feared the West would drag Russia into World War III.
Belarus this morning (28/2/2022) held a referendum approving a new constitution. One of the amendments to the constitution is to eliminate the non-nuclear status inherent in the country.
More than 60 percent of those who voted in Belarus wanted the country to give up its non-nuclear status.
Lukashenko insisted sanctions imposed by Western countries, including Britain and the United States, prompted Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
"Nowadays there is a lot of talk against the banking sector, gas, oil, SWIFT," he said.
“This is worse than war. This pushed Russia into World War III," he said, as quoted by The Sun.
“We need to hold ourselves here so we don't get into trouble. Because nuclear war is the end of everything," he said. Previously, Lukashenko had warned the war in Ukraine would "be a meat grinder" if it continued.
“The conflict in Ukraine is a thin end. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. If it continues like this, the worst will happen," he said.
“He (Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky) will not be hidden in an American bunker or any other bunker. That's why the war must end today."
"I wouldn't even call it war. This is a conflict. The war will last for one or two days, but there will be a meat grinder in three days," he added.
It comes as peace talks are about to be held between Ukraine and Russia. The agreement to negotiate was confirmed by President Volodymyr Zelensky today.
On the other hand, Putin has ordered Russia's defense chief to put nuclear forces on high alert. The reason is that the attitude of Western countries is already unfriendly to Russia, including imposing a series of illegal sanctions. Diplomats from Keiv and Moscow will meet "without preconditions" near the Prypyat River on the Belarusian border.
President Zelensky's office said Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko had taken responsibility for ensuring that all planes, helicopters and missiles stationed on Belarusian territory remained on the ground during the trip, talks and return of the Ukrainian delegation.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the talks were held after conversations between Zelensky and Lukashenko after concerns that Belarus was preparing its troops to join the Moscow invasion.
In a televised address, he said: “Today, we are very close to the entry of the Belarusian armed forces into the war. This is why President Zelensky and President Lukashenko spoke today. "We have to defend our northern flank and we have to minimize the threats that come from there," he said.
"So we agreed to send a delegation to a location on the Ukraine-Belarus border and we went there to listen to what Russia had to say."
He said diplomats would meet "without a preliminary agreement" on what the outcome of the talks would be.
"We went there to say what we think about this war and Russia's actions," Kuleba added.
"I think the fact that Russia wants to talk without any preconditions or ultimatums, without any demands being leveled at Ukraine, is already a win for Ukraine," he said.
Zelensky had previously refused to negotiate in Belarus, but according to Kuleba, the Belarusian president told him that "there will be no such move" as long as the planned talks go ahead.
But Zelenskyy admitted that he was not convinced by the positive resolution of the talks, saying: “I don't really believe in the outcome of this meeting, but let them try, so that later no Ukrainian citizen doubts that I, as president, tried to stop the talks. war."
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson echoed his concerns when he said he doubted the sincerity of the talks - calling the invasion a "catastrophe".
"President Putin has decided to wage war against the Ukrainian people. He inflicted untold misery, violence, suffering on a completely innocent population," he said.
"If he wants to quit, if he wants to step down, if he wants to negotiate, that's very good news. I have my doubts, I have to tell you. "There's nothing I've seen so far in his behavior that makes me think he might be sincere."
