KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin made a rare trip to close ally Belarus as his forces pursue their campaign to bombard Ukraine with missiles and drones amid a broad battlefield stalemate almost 10 months into the war. Moscow has been targeting Ukraine’s power grid since October as part of a strategy to try to leave the country without heat and light during the winter. Putin’s brief trip to Minsk could herald more military support for the Kremlin’s war effort, after Moscow’s neighbor and ally provided Russia with a launching pad for the invasion. Putin said he and Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko discussed forming “a single defense space” but rejected claims that Moscow was poised to swallow its neighbor.
Putin in Belarus, eyeing next steps in Ukraine war
