Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said Belarus would not send its troops to fight in Ukraine but simultaneously blamed Western countries for prolonging the war and increasing military tensions in Europe.
Speaking at a ceremony honoring graduates of Belarusian military academies on Monday, July 6, Lukashenko claimed an international “war party” was determined to keep the conflict in Ukraine going.
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Lukashenko sought to reassure Belarusian military personnel that they would not be deployed to Ukraine.
“I emphasize once again: No one will send you into this slaughter. We do not need war. It is bad that war is ongoing in Ukraine. We support a peaceful resolution,” he said, according to the Belarusian state news agency BelTA.
However, he argued that peace remains impossible because, in his words, an international “war party” does not want the conflict to end.
On June 29, Belarusian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Sekreta said Minsk would react forcefully to any unauthorized or hostile incursion, describing Belarus’s frontier as a “red line” already defined by Lukashenko.
“If the border is crossed without permission or in an aggressive manner, we will respond using our full potential and all our capabilities,” Sekreta said.
On June 15, Lukashenko had rejected the idea of Belarus entering the war, stating that any spillover of the conflict onto Belarusian territory was “absolutely unacceptable.”
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At the same time, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Belarus has recently moved to shut down communications equipment used to guide Russian Shahed drones toward Ukraine.
Zelensky previously said Kyiv has evidence that Moscow attempted to drag Minsk into the war.
EU militarization claims
Lukashenko accused the EU of abandoning its commitment to peace by expanding military spending and strengthening cooperation with NATO.
He claimed billions are being spent on offensive weapons while European governments continue promoting what he described as an “absurd hysteria” over a supposed threat from the East.
The Belarusian leader also alleged that Belarus remains the target of a Western “hybrid war,” including economic pressure, political influence campaigns, espionage and provocations near its southern border.
Conversely, the US and EU states have also accused Minsk of hybrid threats, which included what the US called “weaponized migration,” in which foreigners – mostly of Middle Eastern and South Asian backgrounds – were sent to the border to overwhelm EU border authorities with Minsk’s blessings.
Polish authorities have also accused Minsk of espionage, which included the use of a Belarusian nude model who spied on Belarusian opposition groups for the Belarusian State Security Committee (KGB).
Belarus remains Russia’s closest military ally
Although Belarusian troops have not officially participated in Russia’s full-scale invasion, Belarus has remained Moscow’s closest military ally throughout the war.
Russia used Belarusian territory as a staging ground for its 2022 invasion of northern Ukraine and continues to deploy military personnel, weapons and tactical nuclear arms in the country as part of their deepening military cooperation.
In May 2026, Belarus conducted a joint nuclear drill with Russia after Moscow previously deployed nuclear weapons to Belarus.
Lukashenko has previously voiced openness to hosting Russian drone factories on Belarusian territory, though it is unclear if the plan came to fruition.
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