Ukraine Warns of Belarusian Invasion Strategy

On Friday, the Ukrainian Center for Strategic Communications warned the Belarus has the intention of invading Ukraine, Reuters reported.

The reports came after the meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko in Moscow today.

Reuters cited a statement by the center saying: "According to preliminary data, Belarusian troops may be drawn into an invasion on March 11 at 21:00 (1900 GMT).

On Wednesday, the European Union (EU) announced fresh sanctions against Russia and its ally Belarus, but EU leaders are set to rebuff Kyiv’s appeal for accelerated membership of the bloc.

The 27-nation EU blacklisted 14 more oligarchs and froze ties with Belarus’ central bank and top lenders there, the executive European Commission said on the 14th day of a war that has sent two million Ukrainians fleeing abroad.

Speaking ahead of the leaders’ summit on Thursday and Friday at Versailles, near Paris, an EU official left no doubt that Kyiv’s appeal to be admitted swiftly to the bloc was a no-go.

“Membership could take a long time,” said the official, who is involved in preparing the Versailles talks, adding the leaders still wanted to strengthen ties with Ukraine.