Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday that Russia had begun moving nuclear weapons to its territory, which borders the European Union, ratcheting up tensions with the West over the Ukraine conflict. ManilaBulletin
On the diplomatic front, Russia's foreign ministry announced a visit to Moscow by China's special envoy for Ukraine, Li Hui -- Beijing's latest effort to broker an end to the fighting.
She added, however, that "we have not seen any reason to adjust our own nuclear posture... nor any indication that Russia is prepared to use nuclear weapons from Belarus".Lukashenko has allowed his territory, which borders Ukraine as well as EU and NATO members Poland and Lithuania, to serve as a staging ground for Russia's Ukraine offensive.
Senior EU foreign policy official Enrique Mora met Li in Brussels on the latest leg of a European tour by Beijing's special representative for Eurasian affairs. "This war, militarily, is not going to be won by Russia. It's just not," Milley told journalists after a video meeting of dozens of countries that support Ukraine.