Date of publication: 31 Mar 2022 • 1 hour ago • 3 minutes reading • 20 comments Belarus borders Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, as well as Ukraine and Russia. Photo by Getty Images
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On March 25, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine sent a letter to the European Commission proposing a complete blockade of transport with Russia and Belarus.
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However, in a seemingly growing urgency, Ukraine’s ambassador to Poland, Andrii Deshchytsia, says his officials are already in talks with Warsaw to “completely close” any border crossings with Belarus, according to the Ukrainian news agency. “We are holding talks with the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure, with the Polish government, in order to completely close the border between Poland and Belarus – even if the decision is not taken at European Union level,” Deshchytsia said. “I believe that if such a decision is taken, we will not have to wait for the decision of the European Union – we will completely block any supplies to Russia,” Deshchytsia said. The recent tensions between Poland and Belarus are rooted in the hostility of Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko to the EU, which has challenged the validity of his 2020 election for a sixth term. It created an immigration crisis by allowing thousands of migrants, mostly from Iraqi Kurdistan, to enter Belarus and then forcing them to enter Lithuania, Latvia and Poland. The three governments have declared a state of emergency and announced their decision to build walls on the border to prevent people from entering through Belarus, although the border walls are against EU principles.
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Now, in the face of Russia’s attack, Ukraine is also reportedly in talks with Latvia and Lithuania to close their borders with Belarus, in a bid to block supply routes to Russia. Deshchytsia added that negotiations are also under way with Estonia, an EU and NATO member that does not have a border with Belarus but has Russia as its eastern neighbor. A Latvian Foreign Ministry spokesman told Newsweek that Latvia “strongly supports the ongoing sectoral sanctions against Belarus as well as the personal sanctions imposed on Belarusian political, police, military and business players in connection with the rigged presidential election.” , hijacking of a passenger plane, hybrid attack on the EU border and involvement in the Russian attack on Ukraine. “Further sanctions and restrictive measures against Belarus are being considered.” An Estonian diplomat, who did not want to be named, told Newsweek that no discussions had taken place on the implementation of the proposal. Newsweek also contacted officials in Ukraine, Poland, Belarus, Russia and Lithuania for comment. Belarus was hit by EU sanctions last year following the diversion of a Ryanair flight to Minsk, and Belarussian opposition journalist Roman Protasevich was arrested when he left the plane. Protasevich was the editor-in-chief of the Telegram Nexta channel.
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And with Russia pushing to bomb eastern Ukraine despite assurances it would reduce it, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday night thanked the United States for an additional $ 500 million in aid announced earlier that day, but called for more. “If we really fight for freedom and the defense of democracy together, then we have the right to ask for help at this difficult turning point. Tanks, aircraft, artillery systems. “Freedom must not be armed worse than tyranny,” Zelensky said in a video overnight speech. On Tuesday, the Associated Press reported that Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin had said that Russian forces would withdraw from Kyiv and Chernihiv to “increase mutual trust and create the necessary conditions for further negotiations.”
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But Zelensky said the signals “do not stifle the cracks in Russian shells.” Britain has warned that Russia is likely to continue bombing Ukraine with missiles and mass artillery to compensate for its limited ability to operate on the ground. However, its military losses could also lead to a different approach, including cyber attacks, Eurasia analysts said. Cyberattacks have taken place in Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, government services, banks and telecommunications, the analytics firm CyberCube said in a report earlier this month. Russian government agencies and businesses are also being targeted by cyber-attacks, CyberCube said, adding that some attacks have spread to Belarus, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. – with additional Reuters report
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