Russia planning operation in northern Ukraine, including Kyiv, military says
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Russia's military leadership had been tasked with preparing several operational scenarios for an offensive in northern Ukraine, with Kyiv and Chernihiv identified as key areas, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Pavlo Palisa said on Aug. 28 during a closed-door briefing with journalists, Suspilne reported.
Palisa said the information had been verified and that the Presidential Office had received it from several intelligence sources, without specifying whether they were Ukrainian or foreign.
"Indeed, several options were considered (in Russia)," Palisa said at the briefing.
"The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has developed possible response scenarios, including measures to defend, protect, and counter these actions."
Palisa said no new offensive groupings are currently being detected in the Kyiv and Chernihiv directions. Kyiv Oblast borders Belarus to the north, while Chernihiv Oblast borders both Belarus and Russia.
"Our top priority is to prevent the conditions from emerging that would allow Russia to launch any offensive operations at all," Palisa added.
Relations between Kyiv and Minsk have escalated this spring following joint Russian-Belarusian nuclear exercises in May. At the time, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Kremlin was considering new offensives toward Kyiv and Chernihiv oblasts from Belarusian territory, as well as potential threats to neighboring NATO member states.
Lukashenko said on May 31 that Belarus had a "major" target in Ukraine in its sights, days after Kyiv said it had identified 500 targets in Belarus for potential strikes.
The Belarusian dictator also downplayed the capabilities of Ukrainian troops stationed along the Belarusian border, calling them "cannon fodder." He later apologized for the remarks, saying Belarus posed no threat to Ukraine.
Despite no current buildup of Russian or Belarusian troops being reported in Ukraine's northern border regions, Belarusian opposition in exile handed Zelensky a list of warning signs on June 22 indicating that Minsk may soon enter Russia's war against Ukraine.
Another recent development is that Minsk is building new railway infrastructure in the southern Gomel region capable of receiving military trains carrying personnel and heavy equipment, according to the Belarusian Railway Workers' Community.
The community stressed that construction of the railway and training ground does not by itself indicate preparations for an offensive against Ukraine, but said the infrastructure would make it possible to rapidly reinforce a military grouping in the area if circumstances changed.
"Belarus continues to develop its military infrastructure," State Border Guard Service spokesperson Andrii Demchenko told the Kyiv Independent, pointing to facilities for accommodating personnel, logistics infrastructure, and training grounds.
Demchenko added that Belarus has repeatedly announced the creation of new military formations and regularly conducts exercises and combat-readiness checks, but cautioned that Minsk also frequently uses such activity to generate information pressure.
Zelensky and Lukashenko last met in October 2019 during the Second Forum of Regions of Ukraine and Belarus in Zhytomyr, nearly three years before Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
Tensions between Kyiv and Minsk have intensified since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. Belarus allowed Russian troops to use its territory to launch the assault on Ukraine's capital in early 2022, drawing widespread international condemnation and prompting Western countries to impose sweeping sanctions on Lukashenko's regime.
