Alexander Lukashenko, Belarusian leader and a close ally of Vladimir Putin, may have accidentally revealed Russia’s plans for invading Ukraine through a map.
In a short video posted by Belarusian journalist Tadeusz Giczan, Mr Lukashenko is seen pointing towards a map, which divided Ukraine into four parts, and appears to show Russia’s line of action, target points and the order in which Ukrainian cities will be attacked. He was addressing a security council meeting on Tuesday.
The video was published by a Belarusian pro-state Telegram channel.
The initial order of the attack according to the map, such as forces storming towards Kyiv from the north, and towards Kherson from Crimea, matches with Russian movements so far.
This comes hours after the Ukraine parliament confirmed the presence of Belarusian troops in the Chernihiv region in northern Ukraine, near the country’s border with Belarus.
Mr Lukashenko, however, told state news media that his troops were not joining Russia in its attack on Ukraine.
The video gave rise to speculations that Mr Lukashenko may have accidentally shared the crucial battle plan amidst Russia’s efforts to capture Kyiv, which has resulted in bloodshed and destruction but not outright control of the territory yet.
The map also showed several attacks that are yet to take place, such as the one beginning from the Ukrainian port city of Odesa into Moldova – a former Soviet country – suggesting Russia plans to march troops into Ukraine’s southern neighbour, including Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria.
Russia has already used Belarus as a location from which to send its troops quickly across the border into Ukraine, after insisting the large number of forces assembled there were for joint military drills.
Belarus’ close ties to Moscow in the attack prompted the US State Department to suspend operations on Monday at its embassy in the country.
