Zelensky warns Russia is preparing to send 100,000 troops to Belarus, possibly for an offensive against a NATO country — The Economist

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia is preparing to deploy a significant number of troops to Belarus, which could be used for an invasion of a NATO country. He made the remarks in an interview with The Economist published on February 12.

“No one understands what war is until it comes to your home. I don’t want to scare anyone. [But] it will come,” Zelensky said. “As the world is slowly stopping [Russian President Vladimir] Putin today, slowly, too slowly, it will come. And that’s a fact.”

Citing Ukrainian intelligence, Zelensky said Putin is forming 10 to 15 divisions, totaling about 100,000 troops, to be sent to Belarus for military exercises — just as they were in the lead-up to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

“He [Putin] will tell you that this is training, exercises near the borders of Ukraine, as it was before. But believe me, this is the preparation of a bridgehead for offensive actions,” Zelensky said. “[W]ho told you that he will go to Ukraine? Who told you that he won’t go to Lithuania? To Poland?”

 “It may be that while we are still standing, he is preparing a bridgehead for a large number of troops and simply takes this bridgehead and goes in a different direction. He goes to Poland, goes to Lithuania and occupies them. Why doesn’t anyone think that this will happen?” he added.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, NATO countries have been bracing for potential aggression from the Kremlin. Some European leaders believe an attack in the coming years is a real possibility. In January, the German tabloid Bild reported that Germany’s Defense Ministry was considering a scenario in which Russia could strike NATO’s eastern flank in 2025. The Kremlin dismissed the report as “fake news.”

explainers

A costly gamble Meduza analyzes Russia’s Kursk counteroffensive and what losing Sudzha means for Ukraine

stories

‘The system could collapse’ A ceasefire would mean hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers returning home. Moscow is bracing for chaos.

stories

‘The city is just gone’ Photos from Sudzha, back in Russian hands after seven months of Ukrainian control

stories

Counting Kursk’s dead Investigative journalists at ‘7x7’ identify at least 30 civilians killed during Ukraine’s occupation of Russia’s borderlands

stories

Rebel, photographer, addict In an excerpt from his new book, Howard Amos recounts the life of Dima Markov, whose lens exposed Russia’s raw beauty and brutality

stories

‘No one touched us. They were reasonable guys.’ Two Sudzha residents describe seven months under Ukrainian occupation

news

‘This was predicted’ Mariupol is running out of water — and occupation officials don’t seem to have a plan

stories

Radical crossroads Revolutionary Ireland and the fight against the Russian Empire

stories

‘My child’s life is on the line’ Russia’s wartime budget slashed funding for essential medicines. Now they’re running out.

stories

‘I’d never heard of this type of torture before’ Human rights observer says Russia’s first monitoring mission in Ukraine documented the Kremlin’s evolving state terror system

news

Putin endorses idea of a ceasefire — with ‘nuances’ Zelensky says the statement is ‘manipulative’ but Trump thinks it’s ‘promising’

news

Ukraine withdraws from Sudzha amid Russian advance in Kursk region

stories

Russian state media publishes photos from newly recaptured areas in the Kursk region

news

The curious case of ‘Konstantin K.’ German newspaper claims Russian national who worked for prominent CDU lawmaker has ties to the FSB

news

Drones over Russia’s capital See the aftermath of Ukraine’s biggest drone attack on Moscow since the war began

news

‘The whole world will see who truly wants peace’ How Ukrainian and Russian officials (and pro-war pundits) are reacting to the U.S.-Ukraine talks

explainers

Pushback in Kursk Ukraine risks losing its foothold across the border as Russian troops advance toward Sudzha

news

Ukraine pledges immediate ceasefire — if Russia follows suit Meduza summarizes key takeaways from latest Saudi Arabia talks, including U.S. resumption of military aid to Kyiv

news

Moscow hit as Russia reports largest Ukrainian drone attack since full-scale war began

stories

‘I don’t want anyone else to die’ Traversing Ukraine from east to west, Meduza reports on how Ukrainians think the war with Russia will end

news

House arrest for Sasha Mitroshina  Russian blogger known for flash mob against domestic violence pleads guilty to money laundering

news

A pipeline surprise Meduza reviews Russia’s reported breakthrough against Ukrainian forces in Kursk

stories

All the king’s horses and men Why the Kremlin’s reported plan to pack Russia’s State Duma with veterans is both realistic and business as usual

stories

Dispatch from Perloja How the shattering of empires after WWI turned one tiny Lithuanian village into a ‘republic’

meduza

Help us support Ukrainians affected by Russia’s war A new fundraising campaign from Helpdesk, TV Rain, and Meduza

meduza

Investigations, long reads, and open-data analysis A selection of Meduza’s best English-language reporting

news

Meet the Meduza tote! A new addition to our metal-inspired merch line

The Beet

stories

Vanishing ice, rising risks As Central Asia’s glaciers disappear, a new generation of scientists works to track them

stories

Dispatch from Pankisi Valley In the aftermath of a controversial election, frustration and fear on Georgia’s rural fringe

stories

‘We understand what war is now’ Fortitude, fatigue, and facing reality in Ukraine’s east

stories

Dispatch from Belgrade Nearly three years after fleeing wartime Russia, Serbia’s Russian émigrés tentatively put down roots

This is Meduza

stories

The million-dollar reporter How attackers hijacked the phone of Meduza co-founder Galina Timchenko, making her the first Russian journalist to be infected with Pegasus spyware

stories

For 10 years, we’ve fought censorship to bring you the truth about Russia To celebrate this milestone, we’re sharing 20 things you probably didn’t know about Meduza

Cyberattackers target Meduza with unprecedented DDoS campaign in effort to disable site

stories

‘So what’d you write?’ Ivan Golunov tells ‘Meduza’ about life as an investigative journalist in Russia today and being framed for drug dealing

stories

‘I want to live — and that’s why I’m writing’ Russian journalist Elena Kostyuchenko recounts surviving an apparent poisoning attempt in Germany

meduza

Meduza is granting open access to all coverage of the war in Ukraine under a Creative Commons license You can reprint our articles about the conflict in full — anywhere you like

meduza

Наші серця — з Україною An appeal from Meduzaʼs newsroom to Ukrainian readers

explainers

Life after ‘undesirability’ Now that Meduza has been outlawed, these are the risks involved in reading and sharing our work from inside Russia

12 карточек