Ukrainian foreign ministry doesn’t mention Łukašenka in criticism of foreign leaders in Moscow

May 9, BPN. Kyiv has criticized the participation of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in today’s Victory Day parade in Moscow.

“We consider the participation of the leaders of these foreign states in the public event alongside the war criminal who boasts of unleashing a war in Europe on a scale unprecedented since World War II as an immoral and unfriendly step towards Ukraine, a manifestation of disregard for the Ukrainian people who are fighting for their survival and freedom,” the Ukrainian foreign ministry said in a statement.

It recalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin was wanted for his alleged war crimes, but stopped short of mentioning Alaksandr Łukašenka, who also watched the parade.

Analysts say the Belarusian strongman, who let Russia to use his territory for attacks on Ukraine, has toned down his normally belligerent rhetoric recently.

“I don’t want to go to war,” he said during a trip to the Homiel region last month. “People are anxious there in Homiel. Yes, Homiel and Brest have become frontline regions. But that does not mean that someone is going to go to war with us.”