Kiev - (AFP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in neighboring Belarus, whose territory Moscow used to launch its invasion of Ukraine nearly 10 months ago, on a rare visit aimed at holding talks with his counterpart and ally Alexander Lukashenko.

And his arrival in Minsk came hours after the Russian forces launched a series of attacks with drones on basic infrastructure in Kiev, causing a power outage.

The Kremlin has been seeking for years to consolidate the foundations of integration with Belarus, which relies on Moscow to obtain loans and oil at reduced prices, but Lukashenko has been vehemently opposed to attempts to unify the two countries, even though he is a key ally of Russia in this war.

And ahead of the Russian president's visit, speculation was growing about his intention to pressure Lukashenko to send soldiers to Ukraine to fight alongside the Russian forces, which have suffered a series of setbacks during about ten months of fighting.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied that Putin had planned to visit Belarus to persuade Minsk to take part in the conflict in Ukraine, saying the allegations were "stupid" and "baseless".

These attacks came with drones, which resulted in the injury of three people in the suburbs of Kiev, at a time when Russia announced that it had shot down several American-made missiles in its airspace near Ukraine.

Natalia Dobrovolska, 68, who lives in Kiev, told AFP, "I heard sirens sounding in the street... and I thought it was going to be a march. For the first time, I felt scared."

She added that she heard several explosions before the power went out in her building in western Kiev. Officials reported that Russia had launched 35 drone attacks on Ukrainian territory, including 23 targeting Kiev.

The air defenses said that they shot down 30 combat air vehicles, including the Iranian-made Shahed drones that targeted the capital in recent weeks.

On Monday, Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed "explosions" in the Solomyansky and Shevchenkivsky districts of the capital.
He revealed that "damage" was caused to important infrastructure facilities, but there were no reports of injuries.

Ukraine's energy operator announced the rationing of electricity in the capital following the attack.

For its part, the Russian army announced, on Monday, that it had shot down four American-made missiles over its territory in the skies of the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine. This announcement is the first in about ten months of fighting.

"Four American Harm anti-radar missiles were shot down in the airspace of the Belgorod region," the Russian Ministry of Defense said in its daily report, which was published on Telegram, without giving further details.

Since the start of the Russian invasion in February, Ukraine has been subjected to repeated air attacks, which have killed many people.

After a series of field setbacks and the loss of territory in the summer and fall, Moscow changed its strategies and escalated its air campaign.

But amid freezing temperatures, missile and drone strikes have plunged cities across Ukraine into darkness, cutting off water and heating supplies for millions of people.

After a massive attack on several cities, in which more than 70 rockets were fired on Friday, the national electricity operator was forced to impose rationing until it works to repair the damaged network.

In a video message to the leaders of several NATO countries, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged his country's allies to supply more weapons to his military forces.

He told the leaders gathered in Riga, "It is possible and necessary to thwart the Russian aggression. Our task now is to accelerate the pace to achieve this goal."

The Ukrainian president said in a speech late on Sunday that electricity had been restored to nine million people.
Almost 40 million people live in Ukraine.

Ahead of Putin's visit, Zelensky described the situation on the borders with Russia and Belarus as a "steadfast priority".

"We are ready for all possible defense scenarios," he said, adding that he had discussed the situation in the border areas with military officials.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, is an old ally of the Kremlin and allowed Russian soldiers to use his country's territory as a platform to launch their military operations.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Minsk on Monday, accompanied by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

Before the Russian president arrived in Minsk, Moscow announced that its military forces were conducting military exercises with the Belarusian forces.

And the Russian Ministry of Defense published pictures of military maneuvers with the Belarusian forces, showing soldiers driving armored vehicles and practicing artillery strikes and sniping in a snowy field.

"From morning to evening, there is not a moment of silence on the training grounds in Belarus," the minister said.

In October, Belarus announced the creation of joint regional forces with Moscow, to which thousands of Russian conscripts joined.
It did not clarify where the military maneuvers would be held and how long they would take place.

The deployment of Russian soldiers in Belarus raised fears that Belarusian forces would join military operations in Ukraine.