Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian ally Alexander Lukashenko meet in Minsk (Anatolia)
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived today, Monday, in Belarus to meet his counterpart Alexander Lukashenko, at a time when Moscow announced that a number of its warships would soon participate in naval maneuvers with a nuclear country in Asia.
Russian state television broadcast scenes showing Putin getting off the plane before his ally Lukashenko warmly received him along with other officials on the tarmac and held a press conference with him in which they emphasized partnership in several areas, especially the economy. During his meeting with his Belarusian counterpart, Putin said that Russia is ready to develop nuclear projects in Belarus. He stressed that "it is our partner in all fields, including the economy, and it is important to work jointly in the field of high-tech development."
Putin added that he discussed with Lukashenko the establishment of a unified defense field between Russia and Belarus, and that the two countries agreed to develop new military equipment and that they would continue to conduct joint military exercises.
"We have reached about 31 billion dollars of trade exchange between us, and we will reach 40 billion dollars by the end of the year," the Russian president said.
In turn, Lukashenko said, "We are working to strengthen relations with Russia despite the sanctions imposed on us, and we will not repeat the mistakes that occurred after the collapse of the Soviet Union."
Prior to Putin's arrival, the Kremlin said, "The allegation that Putin's visit to Belarus aims to involve it in the process on Ukraine is incorrect," commenting on media reports that reported this news.
During the current war in Ukraine, Lukashenko appeared as a strategic ally of Putin, and Ukraine accuses Belarus of providing the Russian army with material and technical means and ammunition from its warehouses during the war, and of preparing to launch a joint attack with Russia against it on the northern borders of Ukraine, which Moscow and Minsk deny.
Concurrent with this visit, the Russian forces are conducting military maneuvers in Belarus, and the Russian forces belong to a joint Belarusian-Russian unit, which is being formed and trained at the battalion level. About 9 thousand Russian soldiers participate in this unit.
In a related context, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that a number of its warships will participate in naval exercises this week with China.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that "the exercises will take place from December 21 to December 27 in the East China Sea, and their main goal is to strengthen maritime cooperation" between Russia and China.
According to a statement, it will include the firing of live missiles, artillery, and anti-submarine exercises. "The main objective of the exercises is to enhance maritime cooperation between the two countries and maintain peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region," he added.
The statement added that China will send two destroyers, patrol ships, a supply ship, and a submarine. "Airplanes and helicopters belonging to the Pacific Fleet's Naval Aviation Forces and the People's Liberation Navy will participate in the maneuvers," the ministry added.
The small number of Russian missiles on Ukraine:
In the opposite camp, Secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov said that Russia is likely to have only several missiles sufficient to launch a few more major attacks targeting Ukrainian infrastructure.
"If you count their big attacks, then they only have two or three attacks left, maybe they can launch four attacks, and once they launch, they have nothing left," Danilov said in an interview with the online newspaper "Ukrainská Pravda".
A month ago, Danilov suggested that the Russian attacks would not exceed three or four missile attacks. Since then, Russia has launched more than 3 attacks, with about 70 missiles in total.
According to Ukrainian estimates, Russia can produce about 70 missiles and cruise missiles per month, despite the Western sanctions imposed on it.
Massive drone attack on Kyiv
Earlier today, Kyiv announced that the city was subjected to an intense attack this morning by Iranian drones used by Russian forces.
The military administration of Kyiv said that "the enemy is attacking the capital." And it confirmed that the Russian forces are using the Iranian-made "Shahid" planes that were used to strike the capital in recent weeks.
Today, however, Iran renewed its denial of handing over the drones to Russia and said through its foreign minister that the matter is baseless and that the West is seeking to justify its support for the war by accusing it.
On the other hand, the Russian army announced that it had shot down 4 American-made Harm missiles over its territory in the skies of the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine.
"Four American Harm anti-radar missiles were shot down in the airspace of the Belgorod region," the Russian Ministry of Defense said in its daily report, which was published on Telegram, without giving further details.
