Lukashenko Asked The Russian Ambassador Not To Drag Belarus Into The War

The dictator confirmed The Wall Street Journal's report regarding Boris Gryzlov's role in dragging the regime into the conflict.

The Lukashenko regime does not want to join the hostilities against Ukraine. This was stated by Alexander Lukashenko during a meeting with Russian Ambassador Boris Gryzlov and Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyov, in which he publicly acknowledged for the first time that the Kremlin, through Gryzlov, is trying to persuade Belarus to take a more active role in the conflict.

“There’s no need to get dragged into a war. And there’s no need to push us here into thinking that Boris Vyacheslavovich is orchestrating a process to drag us into a war,” Lukashenko said, addressing Gryzlov. The Belarusian state news agency BelTA clarified that these words were addressed specifically to the ambassador, whereas Russian propagandists at TASS ignored this statement in their report.

Lukashenko added that he had discussed this issue repeatedly with Vladimir Putin and had repeatedly told him that Belarusians do not want to fight against Ukrainians. At the same time, he softened his refusal by expressing a willingness to assist Russian regions, including the Moscow region, in the areas of the economy and security. As previously reported by The Wall Street Journal, Belarus is already supplying Russia with gasoline and petroleum products amid a shortage caused by Ukrainian Armed Forces attacks on oil refineries.

The WSJ, citing former and current Russian and European officials, also reported on Moscow’s pressure on Minsk: According to the publication, since the beginning of the year, Russia has been pushing to use Belarusian territory for strikes against Ukraine and hybrid operations against NATO countries, threatening to cut off financial support. According to sources, the negotiations are being led primarily by Gryzlov. French President Emmanuel Macron called Lukashenko in May and warned him against entering the war.

On June 19, Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave Lukashenko one week to dismantle Russian relay stations used to guide strikes on Ukrainian cities, threatening to do so himself if the demand was not met. As early as June 24, Zelenskyy reported that these relay stations had ceased operations as of June 22. The official spokesperson for the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov, in turn, called Kyiv’s demand an “aggressive threat” and promised that Putin would speak with Lukashenko soon. Earlier, on June 16, Lukashenko apologized to Zelenskyy for his harsh remarks and assured him that Belarus does not want to go to war.

Zelensky also drew attention to the military infrastructure currently under construction in Belarus, which Russian documents describe “in the context of ‘special military operations’ tasks,” and promised to send Minsk “the necessary signals.” Despite the pressure, WSJ sources note that there are no signs yet of Belarus being used immediately for military operations, although that possibility remains.

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