President Vladimir Putin denied plans to soak up Belarus as he paid a uncommon go to Monday to the nation whose strongman assisted his invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.

Putin flew into Minsk along with his defence and international ministers in tow, hours after Russian forces launched a swarm of attack drones at critical infrastructure in Kyiv, which provoked emergency blackouts in a dozen areas.

Putin mentioned that Russia and Belarus — slapped with new Western sanctions since President Alexander Lukashenko was declared the winner of a sixth time period in 2020 elections extensively criticised as fraudulent — had been “united by a common history and spiritual values”.

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Putin known as the international locations “closest allies and strategic partners” however mentioned that rumours that Russia sought to take over Belarus got here from “ill-wishers”.

“Russia has no interest in absorbing anyone, this would simply make no sense,” Putin mentioned.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Ned Price scoffed at Putin’s remarks.

“I think a statement like that has to be treated as the height of irony coming from a leader who is seeking at the present moment — right now — to violently absorb his other, peaceful next-door neighbour,” Price mentioned.

“We have seen the Lukashenko regime essentially cede its sovereignty — cede its independence — to Russia,” Price mentioned.

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Belarus has let Russian forces use its territory and hours earlier than Putin touched down in Minsk, Moscow launched footage of drills with Belarusian forces together with tank manoeuvres and sniper hearth at a snow-dusted coaching floor.

Lukashenko urged nearer army cooperation and mentioned that Russia and Belarus are “open for dialogue with other states, including European ones.”

“I hope that soon they will listen to the voice of reason,” Lukashenko mentioned.

Speculation mounted forward of the Russian chief’s go to that he would strain Lukashenko to ship troops to Ukraine to battle alongside the Russians after Moscow suffered a string of defeats in almost 10 months of combating.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, nevertheless, dismissed the stories “as totally stupid, groundless fabrications.”

In October, Belarus introduced the formation of a joint regional pressure with Moscow with a number of thousand Russian servicemen arriving within the ex-Soviet nation.

– New explosions close to Kyiv –

The drone assaults wounded three individuals close to Kyiv. They got here as Russia mentioned it shot down a number of US-made missiles over its airspace close to Ukraine. “I first heard the air raid siren… I thought there is going to be a drone attack. For the first time, it scared me,” mentioned Natalia Dobrovolska, a 68-year-old resident of Kyiv.

She described listening to a number of explosions earlier than energy shut off in her constructing in western Kyiv. Officials mentioned Russia had flown in 35 assault drones nationwide, together with 23 over Kyiv.

Ukraine mentioned it downed 30 of the aerial weapons, together with Iranian-made “Shaheds”, which have pummelled the capital in current weeks.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko mentioned essential infrastructure amenities had been broken whereas regional authorities mentioned 9 properties had been scarred by the assaults.

Ukraine has skilled frequent and lethal aerial assaults. After a sequence of battlefield setbacks, Moscow stepped up its aerial marketing campaign to focus on the nation’s vitality grid.

– Russia ‘should fail’ –

With winter setting in, missile and drone assaults have plunged cities across the nation into darkness, and severed water and warmth provides to hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians.

Speaking to the leaders of a number of NATO international locations by way of video hyperlink on Monday, President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Ukraine’s allies to produce its army with extra weapons.

“Russian aggression can and must fail. And our task now is to accelerate it,” he informed the leaders assembled in Riga.

He mentioned in a late-night handle Sunday that some 9 million of Ukraine’s estimated 40 million individuals had their electrical energy restored after Russia’s earlier missile barrage final week.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in a year-end information convention, mentioned with remorse that he anticipated the struggle “will go on.”

“I am not optimistic about the possibility of effective peace talks in the immediate future,” Guterres mentioned.

– Gas worth cap –

The West has sought to maintain the strain on Russia. European Union ministers, after months of wrangling, on Monday selected a worth hole on Russian pure fuel, following an settlement that got here in pressure this month on Russian oil.

The worth ceiling on pure fuel was fastened at 180 euros per megawatt hour, though the European Commission mentioned it could droop the cap if “the risks outweigh the benefits” following protracted negotiations involving Germany, the continent’s largest financial system which backs Ukraine however is extremely depending on imported vitality.

“It wasn’t an easy thing to achieve,” Maltese Energy Minister Miriam Dalli mentioned.

The Kremlin lashed out on the newest measure, with Peskov saying the cap was “unacceptable” and a violation of market processes.