Belarus Leader Asks Russia to Station Nuclear-Capable Missiles Near Poland & Ukraine
15th November 2021
With Belarus’ longtime strongman ruler Alexander Lukashenko in the international spotlight over this past week as tensions soar with Poland over the migrant border crisis, he’s been touting his close relationship with Putin while also threatening to shut off the Yamal natural gas pipeline to Europe – something which Putin warned against in fresh statements this weekend.
The threat to shut off energy supplies to Europe is something the Kremlin has distanced itself from, given especially it puts Russia in an awkward position at a moment the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is in the last hurdles of German regulatory approval. The Belarus matter can now be use by critics of NS2 to further their argument that Russia is being handed too much geopolitical and resource leverage over Europe’s energy independence. The fight over the Russia-to-Germany pipeline is not over.
UPDATE: Poland in the Spotlight