Łukašenka says Ukrainians to blame Zelensky for war

November 24, BPN. The Ukrainian leadership will be forced to sit at the negotiating table, Alaksandr Łukašenka told journalists following the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit in Armenia’s Yerevan on November 23.

“It’s easier for [the Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky since he’s well-fed and probably doesn’t suffer without electricity,” Łukašenka said in an interview broadcast by Russia’s Zvezda. “But millions of Ukrainians suffer.” In a year or two they will accuse Zelensky of starting the war, he added.

“The question is not who is right and who is to blame, but why there is a war on [Ukrainian] territory,” Łukašenka noted.

President Zelensky has repeatedly said that Kyiv was ready to negotiate on condition that Russia withdraws from occupied territories and compensates for damages caused by the war.

Ukraine has repeatedly proposed such negotiations, but Russia responded with new terrorist attacks, shelling of Ukrainian cities, or blackmail, the Ukrainian president noted.

On February 24, Russia started a full-scale war against Ukraine. Łukašenka admitted that Belarus participated in Russia’s war on Ukraine, but said it was “not killing anyone.”

Authorities in Minsk denied Belarusian army troops’ involvement in combat operations on the Russian side. However, Belarus allowed Russian troops and weapons to move freely through the country, use its airspace, refuel and store military equipment and attack Ukraine from its territory.