What consequences can these accusations have for Belarusian-Ukrainian relations?
Will Belarus join the war with its troops?
What do today's statements
of Lukashenka
mean for domestic politics?
Radio Svaboda political commentator
Valer Karbalevich
and Ukrainian political scientist
Yevhen Magda
answer these questions of
Yuriy Drakakhrust
on the Svaboda Premium channel .
During the presentation of state awards on March 7, Alexander Lukashenko for the first time commented on the incident with the Russian plane in Machulyshchye, which became known on February 26, 2023.
According to Lukashenka's press service, he said that in Belarus they allegedly detained a "terrorist of the Ukrainian special services and his associates" responsible for the incident.
After a week of silence, Lukashenko admitted the fact of sabotage and told about the nature of the damage to the Russian plane.
In addition, Lukashenka called
Zelensky
a "nit" and told the security forces that "you can't relax."
He also announced that he had ordered a severe purge across the country.
Valer Karbalevich
Karbalevich
Lukashenka said that the challenge from Ukraine has been abandoned, but added that the West will not succeed in dragging Belarus into the war.
Today's rhetoric of Lukashenka rejects the whole game in the matter of returning "fugitives".
Repressions are intensifying, their scale is expanding.
Earlier, Lukashenka said that if an attack happens, there will be a "terrible" response.
Well, there is an attack.
And what is the result?
It was only said that "we will not be drawn into the war."
Whether rockets will fly from Belarus to Ukraine again depends not on Lukashenka, but on the political leadership of Russia.
But it is unlikely to be revenge for this plane.
The diversion in Machulyshche destroys the concept of Belarusian stability.
Rudeness towards Zelensky is compensation for the non-participation of the Belarusian army in the war.
Maybe
This is the hysterics of a person who is not the president of Belarus.
After Lukashenka's demarche, Kyiv should recall Ambassador
Igor Kizim
from Minsk for consultations for an indefinite period.
Without a democratic Belarus, there will be no safe Europe.
This does not mean contacts exclusively with
Tsikhanovskaya.
If I fell into the hands of the Belarusian special services, I would admit anything.
Ukraine will try to reduce the tension in relations, there will be a reaction of low-level persons.
Now Ukraine is shocked by the video of the killing of a Ukrainian soldier.
Against this background, we can even admit that this saboteur is our officer and that we will seek his exchange.
But there will be no official reaction of the special services, they will never recognize such operations and the affiliation of their executors.
Lukashenka was told from Kyiv what will happen if the missile attacks from Belarus resume.
In Ukraine, they believe that strikes on the launchers of such missiles comply with international law.
Relations between Lukashenka and
Putin
have never been too good.
But I think that his reasoning was that the Belarusian army should perform the function of a scarecrow for Ukraine.
I believe that the Belarusian army in the role of a dummy now meets the goals and plans of Russia.
Yuri Drakakhrust
Radio Svaboda journalist
drakakhrusty@rferl.org
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