February 19, Pozirk. Ukraine is changing its policy towards Belarus and will respond appropriately to threats, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement released after yesterday’s announcement of sanctions on Alaksandar Łukašenka.
The Ukrainian leader instructed officials to investigate “all the schemes by Łukašenka and his accomplices,” pledging to counter Minsk “more tangibly.” Kyiv will step up coordination with regional and global partners “to ensure they fully understand what they are dealing with when it comes to the regime in Belarus,” he said.
Łukašenka had been “refraining from taking direct harsh actions” in Russia’s favor for a while, but since last fall, Ukraine has been detecting relay stations on Belarusian territory that support Russian attack drones, Zelensky noted. By sanctioning the Belarusian ruler, Ukraine is responding to Belarus’ increased involvement in Russia’s war on Ukraine, the politician stressed.
“Łukašenka is accustomed to bargaining away his country’s sovereignty and has surrendered many of Belarus’ interests to Russia,” he added.
Earlier this year, Belarusian opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja met Zelensky in Vilnius for the first time. The meeting and an invitation to visit Kyiv signal a clear shift in Ukraine’s stance, the politician noted, indicating that Ukraine is now prepared to engage with Belarusian pro-democracy forces after years of caution.
In February 2022, Russia started a full-scale war against Ukraine in which the Belarusian authorities supported the Kremlin, allowing Russian troops to attack Ukraine from Belarus on multiple occasions and supplying arms to Moscow.
