Kremlin accuses Ukraine of threatening sovereignty of ally Belarus

MOSCOW - The Kremlin on Monday accused Ukraine of threatening the sovereignty of close Russian ally Belarus after Kyiv gave Minsk a week to remove signal relay stations it said were being used to help guide Russian attacks. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that a week should be enough for Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko to remove the equipment, which he said was being used by Russia in its attacks on Ukraine, adding a threat of Ukrainian action if Lukashenko did not do so.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko were expected to discuss Zelenskyy’s remarks “in the foreseeable future.”

“As for the threat itself, of course, it is utterly aggressive: interference in the internal affairs of another country and an encroachment on another country’s sovereignty,” Peskov told reporters. 

“But we have no doubt whatsoever that the Belarusian leadership, and Belarus itself, are capable of safeguarding their sovereignty.”

Russian forces used Belarusian territory to enter Ukraine in February 2022, but Minsk - which hosts Russian tactical nuclear weapons - has not committed its own troops and has said it has no plans to join the war. 

In related news:

▪ Ukraine’s military said it had hit a plant producing electronics for missiles in Russia’s border Voronezh region on Monday, and the Russian region’s governor said five people were killed and dozens injured in the attack.

The missile assault on the city of Voronezh announced by the Ukrainian military was the latest blow to Russia’s defense industry inflicted by long-range strikes.

The Ukrainian General Staff said it had used air-launched cruise missiles to hit the facility, which it described as a “critical component” in Russia’s defense production in the city less than 125 miles from the Ukrainian border.

“It manufactures electronics used in Russian missiles, in particular for the Iskander tactical missile system,” it posted on Telegram.

Voronezh Regional Governor Alexander Gusev, writing on Telegram, described the main target of the attack as “an industrial enterprise on the left bank of the Voronezh River in the provincial capital.

“We have sustained extremely heavy losses today. As a result of a missile attack on the city, five people were killed,” Gusev said. “Several dozen citizens sought medical help, but most were sent home after receiving treatment.”

Gusev said 10 apartment buildings and six private homes were damaged. Earlier, the governor said Russian air defenses had destroyed several high-speed targets over the city.

Video shot from a car driving past the scene, verified by Reuters, showed vast plumes of black smoke billowing out of at least two places in the factory.

Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s drone forces, said his units had taken part in the operation alongside other forces.

In recent months, Kyiv has hit several Russian military production facilities, especially missile manufacturers. 

Despite Kyiv’s increasing capabilities, Russian air attacks still have far greater reach into Ukraine. A top Ukrainian drone maker, General Cherry, said on Monday that one of its factories had been hit, a rare disclosure.

Six people were wounded in Russian air strikes on Ukraine overnight, local authorities said, and the capital of Kyiv issued an air raid alert asking people to seek shelter in the early hours of Tuesday.

Two people sought medical help after Russian forces struck the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia, Governor Ivan Fedorov said on Telegram, and three more people were wounded in Sumy, in the north, late on Monday, emergency services said.

A drone attack on Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv left one woman wounded, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram on Monday evening, and early on Tuesday, Kyiv authorities issued an air raid alert, asking people to seek shelter.

Reuters could not independently verify details of the latest strikes.

▪ Ukraine may revise its offer to Russia of a ceasefire along the de facto frontline if the United Nations Security Council fails to pass a resolution urging a full and unconditional end to the hostilities, a top Ukrainian official said on Monday.

Ukraine’s envoy to the U.N., Andrii Melnyk, spoke during a lengthy session of the U.N. Security Council, the sixth such meeting called to address the war in recent months.

“Ukraine stands ready to engage in direct negotiations with Russia to secure a just and lasting peace in accordance with the U.N. Charter, but our patience is not endless,” he said, noting Ukraine had repeatedly urged the Security Council to adopt a resolution for a full and unconditional ceasefire.

“If the Security Council would further choose a wait-and-see approach, I cannot exclude that Ukraine may recalibrate and modify its offer. Ceasefire along the de facto front line is already a great compromise,” he said. He gave no further details.

Melynk insisted that Ukraine had changed the dynamic in the war with recent strikes, adding that some 40% of Russia’s oil refineries had been damaged. 

Joined by other Security Council members, Melnyk strongly condemned a Russian strike on the historic Pechersk Lavra monastery in Kyiv last week. 

Russia has denied that it attacked the UNESCO World Heritage site, blaming the strike on a U.S.-made Patriot air defense missile, a claim repeated by a top Russian official during the UN session.

Moscow has said its attack targeted and struck drone manufacturing facilities, while Ukraine and many Western countries accused Russia of striking the monastery. 

▪ Russian strategic Tu-160 missile-carrying bombers conducted a 16-hour flight, including an air-to-air refueling test in the neutral zone over the Barents Sea and the Norwegian Sea, the defense ministry said on Telegram.

The flight, which the ministry said was a routine one, was accompanied by Russian MiG-31 fighter jets and was escorted by foreign fighter jets at certain points, the post, issued in the early hours of Tuesday, said, without specifying the countries involved.

In the north, Russia borders NATO members Norway and Finland.

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.

This story was originally published June 22, 2026 at 8:03 AM.