Is Moldova next? Belarus President Lukashenko’s photo with battle map goes viral

The video is of Lukashenko’s address to the Belarus Security Council on March 1, 2022 and was posted online by his regime. Lukashenko is a close ally of Vladimir Putin and his country has served as a launchpad for Russian attacks on Ukraine.

The video shows the Belarusian president standing in front of a detailed attack map of Ukraine. The map reportedly points to a possible attack on Moldova.

What does the viral map actually show?

Viral map of Eastern Europe details Russian attack lines in Ukraine, Some of which have already happened, as the Russians move north to Kyiv and from Crimea to Kherson.

The map also details several attacks that have not yet occurred such as one that points from the port city of Odessa to Moldova, suggesting that Russia is planning to invade Ukraine’s smaller neighbor.

Tadeusz Gizan, a Belarusian journalist, tweeted the video with a post that read, “At today’s Security Council meeting, Lukashenko showed what a real attack map looks like. It shows Ukraine military facilities destroyed by missiles from Belarus. shows, the directions of the attacks (everything is agreed except Odessa-Transnistria). Also, Ukraine is divided into 4 sectors.”

At today’s meeting of the Security Council, Lukashenko showed what a real attack map looks like. It shows military facilities of Ukraine destroyed by missiles from Belarus, directed attacks (everything is agreed except Odessa-Transnistria). Also, Ukraine is divided into 4 sectors. pic.twitter.com/ueqBIFUbyM

— Tadeusz Giczan (@TadeuszGiczan)
1 March 2022

Will Vladimir Putin‘s fight extend beyond Ukraine?

Many experts are of the opinion that Vladimir Putin’s military offensive will not stop in Ukraine. The viral map is again proof of what many claim may have other interpretations.

Multiple reports claimed that Putin’s aide Lukashenko ‘accidentally’ displayed maps of the invasion, revealing areas yet to be attacked in the coming days.

However, the claim is disputed with some saying that what Lukashenko said at the meeting was that Belarus is deploying more forces along its border with Ukraine.

 

About Moldova Moldova is a small country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east and south. Its capital and largest city is Chisinau. Much of Moldovan territory was part of the Principality of Moldavia from the 14th century until 1812, when it was ceded to the Russian Empire by the Ottoman Empire. During the Russian Revolution of 1917, the nation became an autonomous state within the Russian Republic, known as the Moldavian Democratic Republic. It declared its independence in February 1918 and was integrated into Romania later that year after a vote of its assembly. The decision was disputed by the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union established a Moldavian Autonomous Republic (MASSR) within the Ukrainian SSR in 1924. When the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, Moldova declared itself a neutral state. It received formal recognition as an independent state at the United Nations in March 1992. In 1994, Moldova became a member of the NATO Partnership for Peace program. It also became a member of the Council of Europe in June 1995. The pro-European candidate, Mia Sandu, was elected as the new President of the Republic in the November 2020 presidential elections. She became the first woman elected President of the country. The country’s prime minister is also a woman—Natalia Gavrilika, whose party won a landslide victory in the snap parliamentary elections that were called in July 2021 after President Sandu dissolved parliament. Moldova’s President Maia Sandu condemned the war by Russia against Ukraine, calling it a “gross violation of international law and Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity”. The country’s prime minister, Natalia Gavrilita, also said on 28 February that Moldova should move quickly to become a member of the European Union.