Vladimir Putin performed admirably in the strongman’s match, scoring seven goals yesterday in an 18-7 victory over Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko during a St Petersburg ice hockey game.
After having previously stated they would host joint war games next, the leaders put on a display of friendship by joining forces with former hockey stars as their teammates.
Lukashenko was the first to score, while Putin added two more. Their opponents, however, failed to show much resistance perhaps out of fear for potential reprisals.
The match was captured on video, with their rivals backing away as Putin glided toward the goal.
Putin donned the number 11 jersey he loves, while Lukashenko was given the number one shirt.
Ice Floor On Wednesday, Vladimir Putin sprints towards the goal in a ice hockey match with Alexander Lukashenko
Puck-ashenko! Puck-ashenko!
The match took place in St Petersburg after the pair had met.
They were also joined by the Belarusian’s son Nikolai during the match at the Manezh children’s and youth sports school in Strelna.
After the two had met to discuss a second round of military drills, which would take place in February/March respectively, the match took place.
Putin stated during an interview in St. Petersburg that the military will coordinate all details.
Putin’s announcement came amid Russian troop buildsup in Ukraine, raising Western concerns about an invasion.
Some Ukraine officials have expressed concerns that Russia might attack Ukraine from Belarusian territories.
Lukashenko and the Russian President opened scoring.
Putin scored one of the seven goals in the friendly game against former professional ice hockey star players
Putin takes a moment to take a deep breath before taking to the ice as the white team took the reins.
Russia denied plans to attack neighboring country, but asked the U.S. to give guarantees to NATO that it doesn’t expand into Ukraine and deploy its weapons there. This request was rejected by the West.
Russia and Belarus are parties to a union accord that seeks closer political, economic, and military ties. Moscow supports Lukashenko under Western pressure.
After Lukashenko’s election to a sixth term, which was held in August 2020 and which the West claims was fraudulently rigged by the opposition, the pressure on the government intensified.
Since the summer, tensions escalated over thousands of refugees and migrants arriving at the border of Belarus with EU member Poland.
Lukashenko has been accused by the EU, accusing him of using desperate asylum-seekers to pawns in a retaliatory attack on its sanctions and tricking them into trying entry to Poland.
Following meetings between the couple about new rounds of military drills, they decided to match up.
Putin practiced ahead of the crunch match, during which Putin scored almost half his team’s goals
Russia and Belarus reached a cooperation agreement that will allow for close economic, political and military relations. Pictured: Lukashenko (right) with former ice hockey player Alexander Yakushev
Moscow sent several times its nuke-capable bombers over Belarus to be on guard in the recent weeks
Russia organized massive war games against Belarus, which involved over 200,000 soldiers in September as a gesture of support to Lukashenko.
Recent weeks have seen Moscow repeatedly send its nuclear-capable bombers to patrol over Belarus.
Tuesday saw joint patrolling of Belarusian and Russian fighter jets in the airspace.
Lukashenko declared last month that Belarus is ready to host Russian nuclear arms.
While the Belarusian leader did not elaborate on the type of Russian atomic weapon Belarus could accept, the ex-Soviet country has meticulously preserved the military infrastructure that dates back to the USSR.
Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, described Lukashenko’s offer to him as a “serious warning” triggered by Western recklessness.