US sees ‘no indication’ to back Ukrainian claim Belarus has joined Russia’s invasion

Servicemen attend joint exercises of the armed forces of Russia and Belarus on February 12, 2022 | Leonid Shcheglov/Belta/AFP via Getty Images

This story was updated at 6:00 p.m. Central European Time

Ukraine on Tuesday said Belarus had joined the Russian invasion of Ukraine — but the U.S. said later in the day it had “no indication” the claim was correct.

In a tweet posted on Tuesday morning, Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, said it had confirmed earlier reports that Belarusian troops were on Ukrainian soil.

“Belarusian troops have entered Chernihiv region. The information was confirmed to the public by Vitaliy Kyrylov, spokesman for the North Territorial Defense Forces. More details later,” the tweet said.

According to local reports, a Belarusian column of 33 units had entered the region, located north of Kyiv, with mobile communications cut.

Several hours later, however, western allies had not backed up the reports — and Belarus itself was rejecting the claims.

In Washington, a U.S. defense official briefing reporters said the U.S. had “no confirmation that the Belarusians are entering Ukraine, we’ve seen no indication of that.”

And Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko denied that his country’s military has joined Russia’s attack.

“No decisions were made by me,” said Lukashenko, a steadfast Putin ally isolated internationally over his campaign to concentrate power and crush dissent. “And without my decision, these units cannot even be withdrawn from the barracks.”

The back and forth came two days after Lukashenko held a referendum on proposed changes to the constitution that would allow him to consolidate control of the country and end Belarus’ status as a nuclear-free zone — opening the way for a possible deployment of Russian nuclear weapons in the country.

Unsurprisingly, Lukashenko’s side won the referendum, according to Russian news agencies, citing Belarus’ central elections commission that 65.16 percent of those who took part voted in favor.

Paul McCleary contributed reporting from Washington, D.C.