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Ukraine vows to sever relations with Minsk if Belarusian troops cross into its territory

According to the Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Kiev considers Minsk as an active participant of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba Valentyn Ogirenko/Pool via AP

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba

© Valentyn Ogirenko/Pool via AP

KIEV, July 18. /TASS/. Ukraine will sever diplomatic relations with Belarus, if its army crosses into Ukrainian territory, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said in an interview with the Ukrainian edition of Forbes magazine on Monday.

Kiev considers Minsk as an active participant of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, Kuleba stressed.

"We severed diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation immediately after the start of the large-scale intrusion," the Ukrainian foreign minister said. "Likewise, diplomatic relations with Belarus will be severed, if the armed forces of the Republic of Belarus cross the border of Ukraine."

The situation along the line of engagement in Donbass escalated on February 17. The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) reported the most massive bombardments by the Ukrainian military in recent months, which damaged civilian infrastructure and caused civilian casualties.

On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced recognizing the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. Russia signed agreements on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance with their leaders. Russia recognized the Donbass republics in accordance with the DPR and LPR constitutions within the boundaries of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions as of the beginning of 2014.

Russian President Putin announced on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics for assistance he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in Ukraine. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories, noting that the operation was aimed at the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine.

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