Putin in Belarus, eyeing next steps in Ukraine war
Associated PressKYIV, Ukraine — Russian President Vladimir Putin made a rare trip Monday to Moscow’s ally Belarus as his forces pursued their campaign to bombard Ukraine from the air amid a broad battlefield stalemate almost 10 months into the war. Putin said he and Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko discussed forming “a single defense space” in the region but rejected claims that Moscow was poised to swallow its neighbor. “In the night when everyone is waiting for a miracle, the terrorist country continues to terrorize the peaceful Ukrainian people,” said Ukraine’s human rights chief, Dmytro Lubinets. “A 100% air defense shield for Ukraine will be one of the most successful steps against Russian aggression,” Zelenskyy said by video link at a northern European regional threat conference in Latvia. “Anxious because you never know at which moment there will be an incoming missile.” Ukraine’s air force said on Telegram that its personnel were able to destroy 30 of at least 35 self-exploding drones that Russia launched across the country from the eastern side of the Azov Sea on Ukraine’s southeast coast.