Kremlin accuses Ukraine of threatening sovereignty of close Russian ally Belarus

MOSCOW, June 22 (Reuters) - ‌The Kremlin ​on ​Monday accused Ukraine of threatening the sovereignty of close Russian ally Belarus after ‌Kyiv gave Minsk a week to remove ⁠signal relay stations it said were being used to ‌help guide Russian attacks.

Ukrainian ‌President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that a week should be enough for Belarusian leader ​Alexander Lukashenko to remove the equipment, which he said was being used by Russia ⁠in its attacks on Ukraine, adding a threat of Ukrainian action ​if Lukashenko did not do so.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin ​and Belarusian President Alexander ‌Lukashenko were expected to discuss Zelenskiy's remarks "in the foreseeable future".

"As for the threat ⁠itself, of course, it is utterly aggressive: interference in the internal affairs of another country and ⁠an encroachment on another country’s sovereignty," Peskov told reporters.

"But we ​have no doubt whatsoever that the Belarusian leadership, and Belarus itself, are capable of safeguarding their sovereignty.”

Russian forces ‌used Belarusian territory to enter Ukraine in February 2022, but Minsk - which hosts ‌Russian tactical nuclear weapons - has not committed ⁠its own troops and ‌has said it ​has no plans to join the war.

(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Editing by Andrew ‌Osborn)

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