The world has another potential enemy to look out for, as Belarus is reportedly going to be aiding Vladimir Putin in his Russian invasion of Ukraine. It began just a few days ago, and it's really not going according to Putin's plan, who thought he would be much more successful in a much shorter time.
The Washington Post, citing a U.S. administration official, reported that Belarus is preparing to send troops into Ukraine, where it borders, to support the Russian invasion. The deployment could come as soon as Monday. Belarus. It is already Monday morning in the capital city of Minsk, which is on Moscow Standard Time.
"It’s very clear Minsk is now an extension of the Kremlin," the anonymous official said.
Everything we feel about Putin and Russia should also apply to Belarus and its pro-Putin dictator, who opened his borders so Russia could attack Ukraine. The same sanctions and boycotts that apply to Russia should extend to Belarus.
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) February 27, 2022
hello, earth to the american president. @POTUS, sanction now. https://t.co/BdM2IDpdq9
— kaitlin (@thefactualprep) February 28, 2022
In addition to sanctioning Russia, which involves closing off airspace, the European Union is sanctioning Belarus as well.
??EU imposes sanctions on Belarus, bans petroleum imports, sharing technologies. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said that Belarus is actively taking part in the war against Ukraine.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) February 27, 2022
A report from Reuters, also from Sunday night, warned that "Russian forces appear to shift to siege warfare in Ukraine," citing a senior U.S. defense official. The report emphasized that siege warfare means civilian infrastructure and lives will now also be targeted at a greater level and likely a higher cost.
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While initially resistant to holding ceasefire negotiations in Belarus, it was reported earlier that a spokesperson for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Ukraine will send a delegation to meet there, also on Monday. It would seem that Belarus is indeed not so neutral after all, as Zelensky had feared.
Belarus may be caving to Putin's whims, but other allies have not, at least not yet. This includes Kazakhstan, where Putin sent in support to quell demonstrations there last month against an authoritarian regime. Kazakhstan has refused a request to send troops, though.
Even China doesn't appear to be helping Putin, considering it isn't stepping in to help Russian banks. Several Chinese banks are limiting finance options for Russian commodities, according to Bloomberg.
Reuters also reported on comments from a senior Biden administration official on Saturday remarking what a good sign this could be.
China so far does not appear to be helping Russia evade Western financial sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, but doing so would "do profound damage" to China's reputation, a senior Biden Administration official said on Saturday.
"The latest signs suggest that China's not coming to the rescue," the official told reporters after announcing that the United States and its allies agreed to impose sanctions against Russia's central bank and disconnect key Russian banks from the SWIFT international financial transaction network.
The official said that recent reports that some Chinese banks have stopped issuing letters of credit for purchases of physical commodities from Russia were a positive sign.
This "suggests that, much like has been the pattern for years and years, China has tended to respect the force of U.S. sanctions," the official added.
Also announced on Saturday was a joint statement released by the White House on Saturday night confirming "selected" Russian banks were being removed from the SWIFT bank messaging system.
The Russian rouble dropped to a record-low, as Reuters reported on Sunday. "The dollar/rouble rate was up 41.50% at a record 119.00 per dollar, in Asian trading. So far this month, the dollar is up 53.77% versus rouble," the report mentioned.
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