Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has ruled out Belarus entering Russia’s war against Ukraine, calling any spillover of the conflict onto his country’s territory absolutely unacceptable.
In an interview with BelTA News Agency on Monday, June 15, Lukashenko was asked for a response to Kyiv’s comments that Russia plans to launch a new offensive against Ukraine from Belarusian territory, which he dismissed.
JOIN US ON TELEGRAM
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
“We have said many times that it is absolutely unacceptable for the war between Ukraine and Russia to spill over onto the territory of Belarus for various reasons,” Lukashenko said, adding that he discussed the issue with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.
“And I tell you sincerely, I can tell you verbatim what the Russian president told me,” he continued, explaining that the question was resolved. “Yes, he [Putin] says, we understand that Belarus’ entry into the war, in any capacity, is unacceptable.”
As for the reasons why, Lukashenko said that his country has already suffered enough throughout history, going as far as admitting Belarus’s current military vulnerability: “Should Ukraine begin attacking, Belarus is laid out like an open palm before the Ukrainian military,” he said, saying that the country seeks to avoid any direct involvement in the conflict.
For his second reason, Lukashenko said that the front line would be significantly extended.
EU Unveils New Sanctions Hitting Russia’s War Economy, Propaganda Network
“We and the Russians would be unable to defend this sector,” he continued, saying that if such events occurred, the NATO countries could also send their troops to help the Ukrainian armed forces.
“And this war would take on a new dimension. It would become a war of Belarus and Russia against NATO,” he said, explaining that he does not rule out the possibility of this happening even without Belarusian involvement in the war.
For his final reason, Lukashenko cited humanitarian considerations, pointing to the deeply interwoven family ties between people on both sides of the Belarus-Ukraine border.
“Even my own roots, my ancestors’ graves are somewhere between Chernihiv and Kyiv. Are we supposed to cast it all aside, forget it, and start a war? No,” Lukashenko concluded.
Lukashenko apologized for criticism of Zelensky
Addressing his past criticism of President Volodymyr Zelensky, Lukashenko said his previous sharp comments were a response to what he described as Zelensky’s “inappropriate statements” about already having 500 targets ready to strike should Belarus join the Russian war.
“As for my criticism of Zelensky, well, maybe I went too far,” he said, adding that Zelensky is a “young, inexperienced man, not a military man. Maybe something just didn’t click in his head.”
He then publicly apologized to Zelensky for his remarks, adding that he perhaps should not have spoken so harshly while Ukraine is at war.
Earlier, a senior Ukrainian military commander had issued a warning to Lukashenko, advising him not to interfere in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war after recent border tensions.
As reported by Ukrinform, Robert “Magyar” Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, delivered the message via a Facebook post.
You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter
