President vows to respond to move that would draw Belarus more directly into the war; EU anger at Hungary over Russia information sharing. What we know on day 1,490
Russia plans to open four control stations for long-range attack drones in Belarus, Zelenskyy said on Monday, adding: “There will be responses to this. And they will be felt.” Zelenskyy has in recent months repeatedly warned about Belarus becoming more involved in Russia’s war, and added in comments on X that he had instructed the service’s chief to inform Kyiv’s partners about these plans. Speaking later in his nightly video address, the president said that earlier in the war, Belarusian assistance had for a time intensified the damage inflicted by Russian attacks until Ukraine took action against it. “We now have information from our intelligence that Russia intends to continue using the territory of Belarus and temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine to build ground control stations for long-range drones,” he said. Belarus’ foreign ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment outside business hours.
The European Union executive has demanded clarity from Hungary following reports that its foreign minister had passed sensitive information about EU negotiations to Russia. On Saturday, the Washington Post quoted serving or former European security officials as saying Peter Szijjarto regularly called his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, during breaks in EU meetings to give “direct reports on what was discussed” and suggest possible courses of action. On Monday, European Commission spokesperson Anitta Hipper said. “[A] relationship of trust between member states, and between them and the institution, is fundamental for the work of the EU. We expect the Hungarian government to provide the clarifications.” Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán is one of the few EU leaders to maintain close ties with Russia amid the war in Ukraine. The US media outlet’s report has raised hackles in Brussels, where many officials remain furious that Hungary continued to block a loan of €90bn ($104bn) to Ukraine at an EU leaders’ gathering last week. Szijjarto has described the report as “fake news” and “senseless conspiracy theories”. But Hungary’s minister for European affairs, Janos Boka, said “it is perfectly normal for the Hungarian foreign minister to speak by telephone with his Russian counterpart”. Germany described the allegations as “very serious”. “Discussions within the EU, including among EU foreign ministers, are confidential,” a German foreign ministry spokesperson said. “We will not tolerate any violation of them,” he added.
