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Kyiv, Minsk and a church: 13 August 2024
Summary
A look back at the political threads running into 13 August 2024, from the Belarus border to a planned ban on a Russia-linked church.
What was shaping Ukraine's political picture on 13 August 2024? Three developments from the preceding days framed it: a cross-border operation inside Russia, a build-up on the Belarusian frontier and a debate over the church.
The operation inside Russia
On 8 August 2024, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy appeared to confirm that he had ordered a major cross-border operation inside Russia. He said that Russia had brought war to Ukrainian land and that it should feel what it had done. The remark was treated as an acknowledgement of the 2024 Kursk offensive.
Belarus reinforces its border
On 10 August 2024, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko increased Belarus's defensive presence on the border with Ukraine. He accused Ukraine of illegally sending about a dozen intercepted drones across the frontier into Belarusian airspace.
A church and "spiritual independence"
The same day, Zelenskyy announced that the government was deliberating over a ban on a traditionally Russia-linked branch of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine. He framed the aim as strengthening the country's "spiritual independence".
Religion has drawn significant attention in the context of the invasion. Peter Mandaville of the United States Institute of Peace has stated that the conflict is not only a matter of horrible violence, but also one with deeply rooted religious significance.
Taken together, the threads showed Kyiv acting on several fronts at once: militarily on Russian soil, diplomatically watchful of its northern neighbour and domestically on questions of religious affiliation.
