Lukashenko admits Russian troops invaded Ukraine through Belarus in 2022
Alexander Lukashenko (Photo:REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo)
A portion of Russian forces that invaded
Ukraine in February 2022 crossed into the country from Belarus,
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview with pro-Russian
propagandist from Ukraine Diana Panchenko, published on Aug. 17.
This is the first time Belarus has
officially admitted its overt assistance to Moscow in the war against Ukraine.
"Yes, from the territory of Belarus
individual units [of the Russian Armed Forces] crossed the border of
Ukraine," said Lukashenko.
As to why enemy troops moved into Ukraine
from the north, through Chornobyl, Lukashenko said the question should be
addressed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It’s unclear what the
Belarusian dictator was alleging here.
At the same time, Lukashenko asserts that
he did not discuss the invasion of Ukraine with the Russian dictator Vladimir
Putin before it started and didn’t know about its preparation.
“You saw his speech on TV [announcing the
invasion has begun.]; I did too — that's the first thing [I heard about it],”
he said.
“I swear to you, we never had a
conversation about Russia taking some actions against Ukraine and a few days
later we met in his suburban residence to discuss the situation.”
According to him, the Russian leader asked Lukashenko
to "cover him, if something suddenly happens."
Lukashenko's regime supports Russia in the
full-scale war against Ukraine. Russian forces advanced into northern Ukraine
from the territory of Belarus. Installations from which missiles are launched at
Ukrainian cities are located there. Russia utilizes Belarusian airfields, air
space, infrastructure, and hospitals for its full-scale aggression, and
transports its weapons and equipment through Belarusian territory.
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