Lukashenko apologised to Zelenskyy for his previous statements: Belarus will not go to war with Ukraine
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko has attempted to justify his previous public insults directed at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by offering an "apology", whilst cynically assuring Ukrainians that they have "absolutely nothing to fear" from Belarus – the very territory from which Russian troops marched on Kyiv in 2022.
He made these remarks in an interview with the Arab television channel "Al Arabiya", as quoted by the Belarusian state propaganda agency BELTA, reports Censor.NET.
Apologies and new lectures
Commenting on his previous attacks against Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Lukashenko attempted to shift the blame onto the Ukrainian side, stating that his words were merely a "response to threats".
"Perhaps I went a bit too far, but it was a response to his baseless statements: ‘Yes, we have 500 targets, yes, we know exactly where Lukashenko is. Tomorrow we will strike with missiles and drones.’ I kept quiet. Even everyone was surprised that I kept quiet. I understood: the man is under such pressure, a young man, inexperienced, he is not a military man. Perhaps something in his head didn’t click. I remained silent. But when they started threatening me, I was forced to respond. If Volodymyr Oleksandrovych took offence, I apologise to him for these words," stated the Minsk dictator.
However, immediately after his formal apology, the Kremlin’s henchman reverted to his usual threatening tone, cynically remarking that Zelenskyy should be "more careful", as "what goes round comes round". Furthermore, Lukashenko reproached the Ukrainian leader for not agreeing to the terms of surrender in the spring of 2022, when Russian tanks were stationed outside Kyiv.
"If he had listened to me back then, in 2022, there would be no talk today about where to stop — along the line of contact or whether to hand over the remaining 13% of Donbas not yet recaptured by the Russians," said the Belarusian leader.
"Ukraine has nothing to fear"
Furthermore, Lukashenko stated that Ukraine has "absolutely nothing to fear from Belarus", and described the topic of a possible renewed offensive from the north as "hyped up" by the media and politicians.
According to the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Volodymyr Zelenskyy is allegedly being "pushed by the West" to make harsh statements against Minsk.
"It seems to me that Western countries have put pressure on Zelenskyy: ‘Why are you keeping quiet? We’re speaking for you, and you’re silent.’ So he went and made these clumsy, utterly pointless statements. He understands perfectly well that no military action is to be expected from Belarus, and especially not from me," Lukashenko concluded.
He added that Minsk has no interest in Russia’s war against Ukraine spreading to its territory, as Belarus is "very vulnerable militarily", and in the event of Ukrainian strikes, the country’s industrial and logistics facilities could be at risk.
What preceded this
- Earlier, Robert Brovdi, commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Unmanned Systems Forces, called on Lukashenko not to provoke Ukraine following Minsk’s claims of alleged flights by Ukrainian drones over Belarusian territory.
- At the time, Brovdi stated that the Ukrainian military already had the first 500 targets in Belarus "on the drawing board" in case of potential threats.
- Belarus’s self-proclaimed president, Alexander Lukashenko, issued new threats against Ukraine following a statement by Robert (Madyar) Brovdi, commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Unmanned Systems Forces.
