Belarus president claims the West is plotting to attack Russia

Alexander Lukashenko said he had discussed the alleged conspiracy with Russian President Vladimir Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Belarus, the Kremlin's main ally, has served as a staging ground for the Russian army in its offensive on Ukraine. Photo: EPAShow less

The West is preparing to attack Russia through Belarus, the country's president claimed on Tuesday.

Speaking to military graduates and officers, Alexander Lukashenko said he has discussed the alleged plot with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The warning comes as Russia and Ukraine reported strikes in different cities and the EU approved €1 billion ($1bn) in aid.

“Strategic plans for an attack against Russia are being developed,” Mr Lukashenko said, adding that the West would seek to target Russia “through Ukraine and through Belarus”.

“History is repeating itself,” he said, an apparent reference to the invasion of Russia by Napoleon's troops in 1812 and by Nazi Germany in 1941.

“The events unfolding today around Belarus and Russia call for our utmost vigilance and concentration,” Mr Lukashenko said.

Ukrainian servicemen in a shelter at the frontline near Kharkiv. AP

A Ukrainian and his puppy in the Donetsk region. AP

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, third left, is shown apartment buildings damaged by Russian shelling during his visit to Irpin on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP

Rescue specialists work at the site of a destroyed residential building after blasts in Belgorod, Russia. Reuters

A woman lays flowers during a demonstration against the invasion of Ukraine in front of the Palais des Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland. EPA

A woman injured when her house was damaged by the Russian shelling sits in the yard of her house, in Bakhmut, Ukraine. AP

Local residents stand next to a damaged residential building in the town of Serhiivka, about 50 kilometres south-west of Odesa, Ukraine. AP

Viktor Shevchenko stands in a crater to show its depth after a Russian shelling in the Saltivka district in Kharkiv. AP

An image taken from a video provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office purports to show the moment a missile struck the shopping mall in Kremenchuk. AP

People watch as smoke rises after a Russian missile strike hit a crowded shopping mall, in Kremenchuk. AP

Firefighters clean the rubble of the destroyed Amstor shopping mall in Kremenchuk. EPA

A woman cries after the body of her husband, who was killed in the yard of an apartment building during shelling, was loaded into an ambulance in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP

Firefighters and rescue workers at the destroyed Amstor shopping mall. EPA

Rescuers work at the site of a shopping mall hit by a Russian missile strike, in Kremenchuk. Reuters

A couple wounded by a Russian missile strike hold hands in a hospital, in Kremenchuk. Reuters

People wait to receive humanitarian aid in front of a residential building damaged during a Russian attack in Borodyanka, Ukraine. EPA

Ukrainian servicemen take a bus to their positions near Severodonetsk, in Luhansk area. EPA

A Ukrainian service member and a dog in the industrial area of the city of Severodonetsk. Reuters

A couple sits in front of a residential building that was damaged during a Russian attack, in Borodyanka. EPA

Local residents receive humanitarian aid in Borodyanka. EPA

A Ukrainian armed forces tank in Severodonetsk. Reuters

Ukrainian service members walk past a damaged car in Severodonetsk. Reuters

A giant Ukrainian flag is held up during the benefit concert 'Embrace Ukraine' on the Museumplein in Amsterdam. The free event will raise money for victims of the war in Ukraine and the purchase of mobile X-ray equipment that the country needs. EPA

A fire from a gas processing plant continues to burn behind a field of wheat after it was hit by shelling a few days earlier in Andriivka, in the Kharkiv region. Reuters

An onlooker takes in the damage from overnight shelling on Kharkiv's Housing and Communal College. Reuters

A destroyed tank in the village of Novoselivka, outside Chernigiv. AFP

A man decorates a toy cabin for children made from used ammunition crates in the village of Novoselivka, outside Chernigiv. AFP

An internal view of the Housing and Communal College building damaged by recent shelling in Kharkiv. EPA

He said the West was pushing the world towards “major war” and said the army should “keep its powder dry”.

He also pointed to Nato's expansion, saying the “newly minted crusaders” were “forming an armoured fist” to attack Russia.

Belarus, the Kremlin's main ally, has served as a staging ground for the Russian army in its offensive on neighbouring Ukraine.

Aid to Ukraine

EU diplomats announced the €1bn in new funding on Tuesday and added that the rest of a promised €9bn was held up as member states argued over whether a country at war was in a position to sign on to long-term loan.

The funding announced on Tuesday is in addition to €1.2bn disbursed earlier this year by the EU, bringing the bloc's total financial aid to Ukraine since the invasion on February 24 to €2.2bn.

“This will give Ukraine the necessary funds to cover urgent needs and ensure the operation of critical infrastructure,” said Zbynek Stanjura, finance minister of the Czech Republic, which holds the EU's rotating presidency.

Ukraine has said its budget shortfall is as much as €5bn a month and that the everyday running of government and public services depends on urgent foreign aid.

“I wish the amount were greater,” said one EU diplomat, adding that talks among member states to release more funds were “on the right track”.

Allies have rushed to help Ukraine, with the G7 and others announcing commitments of $29.6bn in further money for Kyiv, according to the US Treasury Department.

The US last month transferred $1.3 billion to Ukraine as part of the initial $7.5 billion promised to Kyiv by the Biden administration in May.

Meanwhile, Russian forces launched a “massive” strike on the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, with missiles hitting two medical centres and residential buildings, Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych said. Twelve people have been wounded in the attacks, said regional head, Vitaliy Kim.

In Chasiv Yar, the death toll from an attack on an apartment block climbed on Tuesday to 35, the town's emergency services said.

Russia, which denies deliberately attacking civilians, said on Monday it had “destroyed the temporary deployment point” of a Ukrainian territorial defence unit.

Ukraine said it destroyed an arms depot as part of a barrage of rockets and missiles on Russian military targets in southern Ukraine.

Military officials said the strikes in the Kherson region destroyed artillery, armoured vehicles “and a warehouse with ammunition in Nova Kakhovka”.