Belarus leader Lukashenko says Russian nukes moved closer to EU border

Belarusian leader ­Alexander Lukashenko says Russia has begun moving nuclear weapons to its territory, which borders the EU.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in Bakhmut this week. Picture: AFP

Belarusian leader ­Alexander Lukashenko says Russia has begun moving nuclear weapons to its territory, which borders the EU, ratcheting up tensions with the West over the Ukraine conflict.

“The transfer of nuclear munitions has begun,” Mr Lukashenko said during a visit to Moscow to meet with President Vladimir Putin overnight on Thursday.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called Russia’s move “yet another example of making irresponsible and provocative choices”. But she said “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”.

There was no immediate confirmation by Russia of the nuclear weapon transfer. Mr 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.

In March, Mr Putin said he would station “tactical” nuclear weapons – in effect short-range atomic missiles – in Belarus, drawing condemnation from the West.

On the diplomatic front, Russia’s foreign ministry announced a visit to Moscow by China’s special envoy for Ukraine, Li Hui in Beijing’s latest effort to broker an end to the fighting.

Mr Li’s visit to the Russian capital, where he was expected to meet Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday, comes after he met Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.

The EU told Mr Li on Thursday that it expected Beijing to help pressure Russia to stop the bloodshed in Ukraine and withdraw its troops from the country.

Russia and China have close relations, with Chinese President Xi Jinping visiting Moscow in March and saying their bilateral ties were “entering a new era”.

While China says it is a neutral party in the Ukraine conflict, it has been criticised for refusing to condemn Moscow for its offensive.

Top US officer General Mark Milley said Russia would not achieve a military victory in Ukraine, while also cautioning that Kyiv was unlikely to force out all of Moscow’s troops anytime soon.

US general Mark Milley says there is no clear-cut victory in sight for either side. Picture: Getty Images

His comments underscored forecasts that the war in Ukraine is set to drag on, with neither side positioned to win a clear-cut victory and no negotiations currently taking place.

“This war, militarily, is not going to be won by Russia. It’s just not,” General Milley said after a video meeting of dozens of countries that support Ukraine.

Russia’s original strategic objectives, including overthrowing the government in Kyiv, “are not achievable militarily, they’re not going to be done”, General Milley said.

At the same time, there were hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers in Ukraine, making Kyiv’s objective of recapturing all of its territory unlikely “in the near term”.

“That means fighting is going to continue, it’s going to be bloody, it’s going to be hard,” General Milley said. “And at some point, both sides will either negotiate a settlement or they’ll come to a military conclusion.”

The US has spearheaded the push for international support for Ukraine, forging a ­coalition to back Kyiv after Russia invaded in February last year and co-ordinating aid from dozens of countries.

On the ground, the head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group said his troops had started handing over their positions in the flashpoint eastern Ukraine city of Bakhmut to the Russian military.

Wagner said it began pulling out its fighters after claiming to have fully captured the destroyed city at the weekend.

Ukraine, which denies that Bakhmut has fallen to Russia, insisted it still controlled a “micro district” of the city and said it was still advancing on its flanks.

The battle for Bakhmut has raged for nearly a year, levelling the city and decimating waves of Wagner recruits who have led Russia’s assault on the industrial hub.

Earlier this week, Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhine conceded that about 10,000 prisoners that Wagner had recruited to fight in Ukraine had been killed on the battlefield.

In Kyiv, Mr Zelensky accused Russia of terrorising Ukrainians by launching another wave of ­Iranian-made attack drones at targets across his country.

AFP