May 29, Pozirk. Kyiv will exercise its right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter should Belarus allow an invasion to be launched from its territory, Andriy Melnyk, Ukraine’s permanent representative to the UN, told the UN Security Council.
Article 51 of the UN Charter guarantees states the inherent right to individual or collective self-defense in the event of an armed attack.
“We are closely monitoring Russia’s actions aimed at drawing Belarus further into its aggression against Ukraine,” Ukrinform quoted the diplomat as saying. “This is yet another alarming development and a new threat to which I would like to draw the Security Council’s attention.”
Alaksandar Łukašenka’s regime has effectively surrendered its sovereignty by allowing Moscow to use Belarusian territory, military infrastructure and airspace, Melnyk said. The Kremlin is increasingly pressuring Belarus into deeper involvement in the war through mobilization measures, the deployment of modern missile systems and nuclear weapons training, he warned.
“This creates a new, unprecedented threat not only to Ukraine but also to European security,” the diplomat stressed.
Melnyk warned that “any attack from the north will provoke an immediate and decisive response, and the regime in Minsk will face devastating consequences.” He also urged the UN Security Council to step up pressure on Moscow and Minsk to prevent further escalation of the war.
Ukrainian intelligence detected attempts to persuade Łukašenka “to join new Russian aggressive operations,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this month. The politician warned that there are plans for operations “to the south and north of Belarus – either against Ukraine’s Chernihiv–Kyiv region or against one of the NATO countries.”
In February 2022, Russia started a full-scale war against Ukraine in which the Belarusian authorities supported the Kremlin, allowing Russian troops to attack Ukraine from Belarus on multiple occasions and supplying arms to Moscow.
