Lukashenko apologised to Zelenskyy and stated that Belarus has no plans to take military action against Ukraine
Lukashenko made these remarks in an interview with Al Arabiya TV, as reported by the Belarusian state news agency Belta.
Belarus’s self-proclaimed president, Alexander Lukashenko, stated that he has no plans for military action against Ukraine and also apologised to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for his previous harsh remarks.
According to Lukashenko, his reaction was in response to statements about possible strikes on targets in Belarus. At the same time, he acknowledged that he may have “gone too far” in his rhetoric.
What Lukashenko said
Lukashenko stated that Zelenskyy should not expect military action from Belarus.
He also said that he considers the spread of Russia’s war against Ukraine to Belarusian territory unacceptable and is not interested in dragging the country into hostilities.
At the same time, Lukashenko stated that Ukraine should not “provoke the Belarusians”, and that Zelenskyy, in his words, “needs to calm down”.
What Lukashenko apologised for
Lukashenko explained that his harsh words directed at Zelenskyy were a reaction to Ukraine’s alleged threats to strike targets in Belarus.
He stated that he may have “gone too far” and apologised to the Ukrainian president if he had taken offence at his remarks.
At the same time, in his statement, Lukashenko again shifted the blame for the tension onto the Ukrainian side, claiming that Kyiv should not be threatening Minsk.
What is wrong with the statement about “500 targets”
In his explanations, Lukashenko mentioned the figure of 500 targets in Belarus, but these words did not belong to Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
It was Robert Brovdi, commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Unmanned Systems Forces, known as “Madyar”, who spoke of 500 targets on Belarusian territory in May. He stated that Ukraine had identified such targets in the event that Lukashenko went to war against Ukraine.
Lukashenko subsequently responded to Brovdi’s statement, dismissing the information about the 500 targets as “empty talk”.
Lukashenko acknowledged Belarus’s vulnerability
Separately, Lukashenko stated that Belarus is militarily vulnerable.
According to him, if Ukraine were to strike Belarus in the same way as it strikes Russian targets, the country would allegedly “lie before the Ukrainian military like an open palm”.
This is precisely how he explained his reluctance to go to war against Ukraine.
Context
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Belarus has played a significant role in the war against Ukraine. In 2022, Russian troops used its territory as a springboard for an offensive against Kyiv and the northern regions of Ukraine.
Subsequently, Belarus remained a rear base for the Russian army and also became part of Russia’s nuclear blackmail following the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons on its territory.
Zelenskyy had previously announced the strengthening of Ukraine’s northern border defences due to threats from Belarus and the Bryansk region of the Russian Federation. He also warned of the consequences for the Belarusian leadership in the event of aggressive actions against Ukraine.
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