Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in late February, with the Kremlin saying the invasion was to “liberate” the separatist region of Donbas and remove Nazis from the Ukrainian government, even though Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is Jewish . The invasion was met with widespread condemnation from many world leaders, who have raised concerns about the lack of substantial justification for the invasion and reports of war crimes. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has found a key ally in Lukashenko, who has long had close ties to the Kremlin. Belarus shares borders with Ukraine and Russia and sided with Moscow during the conflict. Throughout the invasion, Lukashenko has allowed Putin’s military to use his country’s soil to wage war – and just last month, Russian troops fired missiles into Ukraine from Belarus. Estonian Defense official Martti Magus said on Friday that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko does not have the final say on whether Russian troops can use Belarus to invade Ukraine. Above, Lukashenko speaks during an interview in Minsk on July 21. ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images Magnus, who serves as the director of Estonia’s defense preparedness department, said during a news conference that the recent attacks show that Lukashenko does not have the final say in allowing Russia to use his territory for the invasion. “Events in July showed that the invading forces are using [Kremlin ally] Belarus, and carrying out both indirect and direct strikes on Ukraine, from that country,” Magnus said. “This shows us that [Belarusian leader Alexander] Lukashenko does not have the last word and that Russia’s armed forces can pass through Belarus freely.” His comments come less than a week after the UK Ministry of Defense said Lukashenko was more dependent on Russia amid the invasion and that he “continues to toe Moscow’s line”. “His regime has become even more authoritarian, with the extension of the death penalty for ‘preparation of terrorist acts,’” the ministry wrote in an intelligence briefing last Sunday. “His increasing and unsubstantiated accusations of Western designs in Belarus and Ukraine likely indicate that he has become almost completely dependent on Russia.”
Belarus is Putin’s key ally amid the war in Ukraine
As Putin becomes something of a pariah among European leaders, Lukashenko remains close to him. Russia’s latest missile attack from Belarus is only the latest instance of Belarus helping the Kremlin. In the early days of the invasion, when Russian troops were aiming for a more large-scale invasion, Lukashenko allowed Russian troops to cross into Ukraine from Belarus, giving them closer access to the key capital of Kiev – although Russian forces ultimately did not managed to achieve few, if any, targets beyond the easternmost parts of Ukraine. In June, as his troops continued to fight in Ukraine, Putin pledged to provide Belarus with nuclear-capable missiles. Lukashenko, meanwhile, has largely backed Putin’s defense of the war. In May, he warned that the West must stop supplying Ukraine with weapons to prevent World War III and said last month that the West was planning to attack Russia. However, he has called on both sides to reach an agreement to end the war. Newsweek has reached out to the Belarusian Foreign Ministry for comment.
