Belarus says it warned Ukraine not to drag it into war
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that he warned Ukraine not to try to drag his country into war against rising tensions.
As Russian forces struggle to advance and Ukraine rains down drones on targets deep inside Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has repeatedly claimed that the Kremlin wants to further integrate Belarus into the Russian side.
He upped the ante last week by threatening to disable signal relay stations in Belarus that he said helped Russian drones hit Ukraine.
He said on Wednesday the stations had stopped operating, although there was no independent confirmation.
Lukashenko, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said in televised comments that Zelenskiy’s representatives were recently in Minsk.
“I told them clearly: ‘Guys, tell your president: if he thinks that he can talk to us like this and drag us into war, then he needs to understand that the nature of the war will change instantly,'” Lukashenko said, adding that Belarus has no desire to fight Ukrainian forces.
“We got an answer: The president and his team understand this. So let’s reach an agreement, guys. We need to reach a substantive agreement.”
There has been no comment from Ukraine yet regarding Lukashenko’s words.
Writing on Telegram after meeting with foreign intelligence chief Oleh Luhovskyi, Zelenskiy repeated his earlier comments that Belarus was improving roads in border areas and establishing facilities for storing ammunition and fuel.
“Belarus knows what steps need to be taken for peace,” he wrote.
“The development of border infrastructure for aggression from Belarus must be stopped.”
Belarus has strategic importance for all parties as it shares its borders with Russia, Ukraine and three NATO countries.
This importance was further demonstrated last year when the United States re-engaged with Lukashenko after years of avoiding contact and began easing sanctions against Belarus in exchange for the release of political prisoners.
The Kremlin on Thursday denied a Wall Street Journal report that Russia wants to use Belarus as a springboard to step up attacks on Ukraine and threatened to cut off financial support if it refuses.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the report “does not correspond to reality” and that Belarus is “our closest ally”.
Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said that those who increased tensions were members of the NATO military alliance.
In his speech to the graduating officers, he said, “The situation at our borders is extremely unstable and escalating. Beyond our borders, NATO troop formations are being strengthened, infrastructure is being improved, the military budgets of neighboring states are being expanded, and politicians are making harsh militarist statements.” he said.
“Efforts are continuing to prolong or even expand the hot conflict that the West started in Ukraine. Today, we are aware of a blatant attempt to drag Belarus into war.”
European countries strongly reject claims that they are responsible for the war in Ukraine, where Russia is launching a full-scale invasion in 2022.
Although Lukashenko did not send Belarusian troops to fight alongside Russia, he allowed Putin to use Belarus as a launching pad to invade Ukraine and later agreed to allow Russia to deploy tactical nuclear missiles on Belarusian territory.
Belarus also conducts frequent joint military exercises with Russia and allows Russian forces to use its bases and training areas.
