Belarusian leader blames unnamed 'war party' for Russia's war in Ukraine
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko (photo: Getty Images)
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko made a new statement about his country's role in the war against Ukraine, according to remarks he made to the Belarusian press.
He said that Belarus does not want war. At the same time, he claimed that the European Union has openly embarked on a course of militarization and that an absurd hysteria is being stirred up around an alleged "imaginary" "threat from the East" (referring to Russia).
The Belarusian leader blamed the continuation of the war on an alleged "international war party" without specifying who was behind it.
"No one will send you into this slaughter"
Lukashenko addressed Belarusian service members directly and promised that they would not be sent to fight in Ukraine.
"No one will send you into this slaughter. We do not need war. It is bad that the war continues in Ukraine. We support a peaceful resolution of issues. But, as I said, the international 'war party' does not want this," he added.
Meanwhile, it became known that Russia has turned Belarus into a kind of "cash cow" in the fuel sector.
In June, the Kremlin sharply increased gasoline imports from Belarus to record levels, redirecting fuel that had previously been supplied to Central Asian countries because Russian refineries are facing shortages following strikes on oil refineries.
The Kremlin has previously tried to draw Minsk into the war against Ukraine.
Earlier, Russia spread another false claim alleging that a Ukrainian drone had attacked a passenger bus in the Bryansk region. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine rejected the claim, calling it a provocation intended to cover up Russia's own crimes.
