Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine has obtained important intelligence on the situation in Crimea and other occupied territories, as well as on Belarus’ military preparations along the Ukrainian border.
He said the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, Oleh Luhovskyi, had reported on Belarus’ military preparations along the border with Ukraine under what he described as clear Russian influence.
“Construction is nearing completion along our state border in Belarus on road infrastructure and storage facilities for ammunition and fuel and lubricants that have no purpose other than military use. This concerns the border directions of Kobryn–Kovel, Ivanava–Manevychi, Luninets–Sarny, Rechytsa–Korosten and Homiel–Chernihiv. We know that in Russian documents this is described specifically in the context of the objectives of the so-called ‘special military operation,'” the Ukrainian president said.
According to Zelenskyy, Belarus has received the necessary signals from Ukraine regarding these activities, as well as all other forms of its cooperation with Russia aimed at prolonging and expanding the war.
“Belarus knows what steps it must take to achieve peace. The development of aggressive border infrastructure by Belarus must be stopped. Steps aimed at de-escalation and peace must be taken by the Belarusian side,” he stressed.
He also said that Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service had obtained materials indicating an almost daily deterioration of the situation with fuel supplies, military logistics and governance in Crimea.
“The Russian occupation administration quite clearly and unequivocally acknowledges that it is unable to resolve the problems created by our medium-range sanctions against the occupier, as well as by the implementation of the long-range sanctions plan, primarily targeting Russian oil refining. A similar situation is unfolding in other Russian regions,” the Ukrainian president said.
“We have also obtained internal Russian documents assessing public sentiment in the aggressor state. The current level of anxiety among Russians is now higher than it was during our Kursk operation, exceeding 50%. Already 66% of Russians consider their financial situation difficult. More than 80% believe a large-scale economic crisis in Russia is inevitable. These are absolutely transparent indicators reflecting the failure of Putin’s military policy,” he added.
