Łukašenka: remember “children who ask for peace and food”

December 29, BPN. We need to “remember those children who ask for peace, ask for food, ask for warmth in the house,” Alaksandr Łukašenka has said at a charity event for children in Minsk.

“These are the basic things that everyone, especially a child, should have,” Łukašenka’s press office quoted him as saying. “There are a lot of children in the world who do not have the warmth of home. A lot of children who just want to eat and live in peace. We must always remember these people, these children. If we do, this misfortune will never come to our land.”

“If a child is smiling, it means that the state exists and the society is healthy,” Łukašenka stressed.

On February 24, Russia started a full-scale war, using Belarusian territories to attack Ukraine. Łukašenka admitted that Belarus participated in Russia’s war against Ukraine, but said it was “not killing anyone.” Minsk’s role fits the international definition of aggression.

UNICEF estimated that about 1,000 children have been killed or wounded in Ukraine as of August 2022. Over 7.6 million Ukrainian refugees fled to Europe, mostly women and children. Seven million people were internally displaced. Inside Ukraine, nearly 18 million people, including 3.3 million children, are in dire need of humanitarian assistance.