Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at the Munich Security Conference that, according to intelligence services, Russia is expected to send troops to NATO’s eastern flank.
Zelensky warned European allies about potential future Russian attacks. Referring to accusations that Russia is deliberately smuggling migrants into the EU through Belarus, Zelensky said at the Munich Security Conference (MSC), “What if next time it’s not migrants—what if they are Russian soldiers or North Korean soldiers?” Belarus borders three NATO member states, Zelensky noted. “How quickly will their allies react – and will they really react?”
EU member states that are neighbors to Russia and its ally Belarus accuse them of using these tactics as part of “hybrid” attacks, intentionally sending migrants to the northern and eastern borders of Europe to force them across the EU borders.
Zelensky: Russia Is Using a Similar Tactic as in Ukraine
The Ukrainian president now reports that he has information from intelligence services indicating that this summer, Moscow plans to transfer soldiers to Belarus. Their deployment will be presented as a military exercise—similar to how Russia prepared its invasion of Ukraine three years ago. However, Zelensky did not provide any further evidence.
Against the backdrop of the change in leadership in the United States, Zelensky stated that the old relations between Europe and the U.S. “are coming to an end.” Given the uncertainty about future support from Washington, Europe must “unite and act in a way that no one can say no to Europe, command it, or treat it as weak.” /DW
