Lukashenko's missile claim and a new US base in Poland
A look back at two regional security announcements reported in the days before 4 July 2022.
What was being said about security on Ukraine's western borders on 4 July 2022? Two announcements in the preceding days set the tone.
On 2 July 2022, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko claimed that his country had intercepted Ukrainian missiles directed at Belarus three days earlier. He said Belarus did not want war with Ukraine.
A few days before that, on 29 June 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden spoke at the NATO summit in Madrid. He announced that a new permanent U.S. military base would be established in Poland: the headquarters of the 5th Army. The command had kept a forward command post in the city of Poznań since the previous year. Poland's government had long requested such a base.
Together, the two statements showed how the war in Ukraine was shaping the diplomacy of neighbouring states. Minsk made its claim about missiles and its wish to avoid war, while NATO's summit produced a lasting U.S. military presence in Poland.
