Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin flies to Belarus on Monday amid fear in Kyiv that he intends to pressure the former Soviet ally to join a new ground offensive against Ukraine and reopen a new front.
Putin, whose invading troops have been buffeted and forced into retreats in Ukraine's north, northeast and south, is taking a more public role in the war and visited his operation's HQ to sound out military commanders on Friday about their next steps.
Ukraine's top General Valery Zaluzhniy told The Economist last week that Russia was preparing 200,000 fresh troops for a major offensive that could come from the east, south or even from Belarus as early as January, but more likely in spring. Foreign diplomats say Lukashenko, a pariah in the West who relies heavily on Russian support, understands it would be a deeply unpopular step at home for him to commit troops to Ukraine. But he has already supported Russia's war extensively.Some military analysts see the maneuvering as a ploy to make Ukraine commit forces to its north so it is more exposed to Russian assaults elsewhere. But there has been a flurry of political activity, too.
Lukashenko said he and Putin will hold talks on a long-running effort to integrate their countries into a supranational union State. The talks have gone on for years and are seen by the Belarus opposition as a Trojan horse for a stealth annexation of their country by Russia.
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