Belarusian President accuses Ukraine of trying to drag NATO into war

Belarusian President accuses Ukraine of trying to drag NATO into war

Belarusian President accuses Ukraine of trying to drag NATO into war. Image: Drop of Light/Shutterstock.com

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has accused Ukraine of attempting to drag NATO forces into the war between their country and Russia, according to an American research group. 

The Insitute for the Study of War (ISW) said in a release that Lukashenko lay the blame for a ‘growing number of provocations’ near the Belarus-Ukrainian border at the doors of Ukraine and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), citing a Telegram post quoting the leader.

The ISW’s release also stated Lukashenko was using the claims to resist pressure from Russia to join the war effort in Ukraine.

The 68-year-old leader, believed to be one of the closest allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin, 70, was also said to have claimed that NATO forces had been ‘building up forces’ and ‘intensifying combat training’ in neighbouring countries in recent weeks. 

In a Telegram post cited in the ISW’s release, Lukashenko is also quoted – purportedly by Belarus’s Ministry of Defence – as linking the ‘recent fall of a rocket’ in rural Poland as being evidence of Ukraine’s intention to drag NATO member states into the conflict. 

Missiles which killed two Polish citizens struck the village of Przewodów in Poland, close to the Poland-Ukraine border, in the middle of last month. 

The strike was initially blamed on Russia, but later investigations concluded the rogue missile was more likely to have been fired by Ukrainian forces defending against Russian bombardments. 

The ISW’s statement read: “Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko [has] continued to set informational conditions to resist Russian pressure to enter the war against Ukraine by claiming that NATO is preparing to attack Belarus.

“Lukashenko [has] blamed Ukraine and NATO for a growing number of provocations near the Belarus-Ukrainian border and stated that Ukraine is trying to drag NATO forces into the war.”

The ISW release cited a Telegram post purportedly posted by the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Belarus, which quoted Lukashenko as saying: “All law enforcement agencies note an increase in the number of provocations near the state border [between Ukraine and Belarus]. 

“Ukraine, under any pretext, is most likely trying to draw the troops of NATO member states into the conflict. 

“All this is confirmed by the recent fall of a rocket on the territory of Poland.”


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Written by

James Gamble

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