President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday, May 15, that Ukrainian intelligence has evidence Russia is attempting to draw Belarus more directly into the war against Ukraine and possibly into future operations against NATO countries. Following a meeting with Ukraine’s military and intelligence leadership, Zelensky said Kyiv had identified additional contacts between Russian officials and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko aimed at persuading Minsk to join new Russian military operations.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “We continue recording Russian attempts to pull Belarus deeper into the war against Ukraine,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram. Zelensky said Russia is considering operational plans launched from Belarusian territory either toward Ukraine’s Chernihiv-Kyiv sectors or against a NATO member state. “Ukraine possesses details of the conversation between Russia and Belarus,” Zelensky said. Zelensky warned that Ukraine would defend itself if Lukashenko decided to directly support Russian military operations. “Ukraine will undoubtedly defend itself and its people if Alexander Lukashenko makes a mistake and decides to support this Russian intention as well,” he said. Zelensky added that he had instructed the Ukrainian military and security services to prepare a response plan to be reviewed at a future meeting of the Stavka, a group of top military leaders that governs the General Staff.