Is Putin negotiating a new escalation of the war in Belarus today?

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives on a visit to Belarus today, BTA reported.

Putin’s visit has raised fears in Kiev that the Russian leader intends to pressure Minsk to join a new ground offensive against Ukraine.

Putin’s visit to Minsk is the first since 2019, with talks scheduled with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. The Russian president last visited the Belarusian capital before the start of the pandemic and the wave of protests in Belarus in 2020, which Lukashenko ended with the help of the Kremlin.

“As part of these talks, further aggression against Ukraine and the broader involvement of the Belarusian Armed Forces in the operation against Ukraine will be discussed,” said Serhii Naev, Chief of Staff for Joint Operations of the Armed Forces of Belarus. Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian forces, General Valery Zaluzhny, told the publication “Economist” last week that Russia is preparing a new army of 200,000 people for a major offensive that could begin in January or spring, Reuters recalls.