Lukashenko: Belarus can go to war against Ukraine if there is aggression against us
The self-proclaimed President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has stated that Belarus can go to war against Ukraine only if aggression is directed towards itself.
Source: Belarusian state media Belta.
According to Lukashenko: "There is only one way to draw us into the war: if aggression is directed against us, if they start fighting against us.
So I’m keeping an ear to the ground. When I read this (statements that Belarus may attack Ukraine - ed.), I call the military: "Report what is happening in the northwest, in the west? Are we seeing everything? Have we mobilised everything? How is our reconnaissance going?"
Details: Lukashenko added that he has said "one thousand and twenty times that he had no plans to fight in Ukraine".
According to him, the Belarusians "genetically do not accept the war", but now there is an "information war", and it is necessary to "respond well", "react calmly, but not justify."
Lukashenko also added that the Belarusian opposition is now forming volunteer units for the war in Ukraine.
Why it matters: On 11 March, the Russians bombed Belarusian border settlements of Kopany, Bukhlichi, and Verkhnii Terebezhov in Belarus. There were no casualties.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine believes that the insidious provocation was carried out in order to draw the Armed Forces of Belarus into the war against Ukraine on the Russian side.
Previously:
The self-proclaimed President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has already drawn Belarus into the Russo-Ukrainian war by providing Russian forces with military facilities in Belarus.
Russian military aircraft are using Belarusian airfields to carry out air raids on Ukrainian cities, while Belarusian warehouses, fuel depots, and hospitals are used to meet the rear needs of Russian army units in Ukraine. In addition, a significant portion of Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian cities have been carried out from the territory of Belarus.
On March 11, Ukrainian military and civil servants reported that Belarus was preparing to invade Ukraine by 9:00 p.m. on 11 March.
On 12 March, Belarus announced that five battalion tactical groups would be sent to the border with Ukraine to replenish the military while denying that this was preparation to enter the war on the Russian side, calling it "rotation."
On 17 March, it was reported that the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Air Force of the Republic of Belarus was running helicopter training flights over Minsk throughout the evening. The pilots not only practised flying the aircraft, but also ran combat simulations.
Journalists and activists in Belarus are constantly monitoring the movement of military equipment, including infantry fighting vehicles and tanks, as well as trucks carrying Iskanders – a mobile short-range ballistic missile system.
On 19 March, it was reported that Russia was moving troops from Vladivostok and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to Belarus to make up for losses in the war in Ukraine.
