Podoliak on Belarus' participation in war: we have been preparing, and Lukashenko will feel pressure from society

OLENA ROSHCHINA  — MONDAY, 13 JUNE 2022, 14:56

Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said that Ukraine was reserving forces in case Belarus decided to send large numbers of troops into the war on Russia's side, and expressed doubts that Belarus's participation in the fighting would last long.

Source: Mykhailo Podoliak in an interview with the Belarusian newspaper "Zerkalo", answering the question whether he is allowing for [the idea] that Belarusian troops will still invade Ukraine.

Quote from Podoliak: "We are allowing for different scenarios. Our intelligence is actively working, in particular, on the Belarusian area issue. We are monitoring all movements, initiatives, training, and distribution of weapons to hunters.

We are now considering a pessimistic scenario and preparing for it, reserving our strength and assessing our capabilities. In order to be ready to inflict maximum damage on any other army as well as the Russian one.

If Belarus wants to see what mass deaths of military personnel look like, then perhaps it should enter Ukraine.

But I do not quite understand why this question is being raised. It seems to me that Belarusian society is much more free ideologically than Russian society. "

Details: When replying to the remark that a decision about this is being made by Alexander Lukashenko, Podoliak said: "I am confident that Mr. Lukashenko will quickly feel pressure from society.

I think if the inadequacy of the political leadership of Belarus triumphs, it won’t be long before society moves from shock to taking action. Perhaps this would be good for Belarus," Podoliak added.

He thinks that "Belarus is a very rotten country in terms of its political elite, and very mature in terms of its society."

The adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine also confirmed that the Ukrainian authorities did not expect Belarus to allow Russia to attack Ukraine from its territory.

Speaking about the start of the war, he noted that Russia had been ready for an attack all the previous year, but Kyiv believed that there would be intense fighting in the east of Ukraine.

Quote from Podoliak: "Russia and Belarus were conducting [military] exercises for six months. But objectively, we did not expect your country [Belarus] to provide its full infrastructure for direct intervention in Ukraine.

We thought that the Belarusian leadership, despite its natural anti-democracy, would be much smarter and would try to minimise its involvement in direct hostilities. Now, legally, for quite a while Belarus will be thought of as the country that provided the infrastructure for the Russian invasion."

Details: Podoliak emphasised that Ukraine is not planning an offensive war, but is engaged in defence.

"We are not interested in Russia on any parameters. We are not going to attack. By the way, someone named Lukashenko said that an attack was being prepared from four places. Ukraine is not a militaristic country that can suddenly attack two countries and attack Russia and Belarus at the same time. This has now become a meme. Lukashenko will go down in history as an anecdotal character," said Andrii Yermak’s adviser.

According to Podoliak, Lukashenko's demand that Belarus should become a participant in the negotiations is connected with the desire to distance itself from Russia and avoid maximum responsibility.