He returned from an Asian tour and warned of economic and information pressure. He called recent border incidents provocations and demanded a sincere response.
Alexander Lukashenko on July 6 spoke about a “hybrid” war against Belarus and assured that he would not send the Belarusian army to fight in Ukraine, according to the local service of Radio Liberty.
Lukashenko appeared in public on the fourth day after returning from a tour of Asian countries and took part in a ceremonial ceremony honoring graduates of higher military academies and the senior officer corps.
The Belarusian leader stated that the “hybrid attack” against the country would continue and stressed that economic, political, and information pressure is being applied against Belarus.
Economic dictatorship, political and information pressure are complemented by active blackmail and provocations on our southern borders. Some Western politicians are simply irritated by our independence and autonomy, our alliance with Russia, and our commitment to a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Ukraine
– Alexander Lukashenko
Statement on the conduct of the security forces
Addressing the soldiers and graduates, he assured:
Nobody will send you to this slaughter
– Alexander Lukashenko
Lukashenko stressed that only those countries can be sovereign which have a strong, well-armed, and people-loyal army.
After the incident with a Belarusian bus that occurred on June 17 in the Bryansk region, Lukashenko said that in this way “someone is provoking and trying to draw Belarus into the war.” According to him, the cause was a drone of Ukrainian origin, and he demanded from Ukraine “a sincere response”.
a sincere response
– Alexander Lukashenko
The second incident involving damage to a Belarusian bus after the suspected drone strike occurred on July 2 at the border between Belarus and Russia. The Minsk–Anapa bus stopped at a parking area after crossing the border; passengers told local propagandists that the target might have been not the bus itself but neighboring trucks. As a result of the strike, one of the vehicles burned, and two others sustained damage.
Fragments of these events show that Lukashenko has effectively supported Russia’s aggression against Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. Since then, a substantial portion of Belarusian military and civil industry has been working to supply the Russian army and fulfill its orders in various sectors of the economy.
In these statements and events, a consistent line of Belarus’ leadership is evident: the emphasis on independence and sovereignty must be secured through a strong defense and close military friendship with Russia, which simultaneously defines the character of actions in the region and affects security near the Ukrainian border.