Lukashenko Comments on Why Russian-Belarusian Exercises Are Held Near the Ukrainian Border

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko today discussed the reasons for the Belarusian-Russian military exercises near the Ukrainian border during a meeting with Ukrainian political and public figure Alexander Moroz, as reported by Belta.

“Before that hysteria (around Belarusian-Russian military exercises), we made a decision about exercises in the south of our republic. We needed to conduct them ourselves to determine where to keep a small number of troops due to the events happening in Ukraine—the flow of weapons, our refugees, the formation of camps, and training. That is where the influx of those saboteurs is coming from, to be honest,” noted the country’s leader.

For this reason, he emphasized that Belarus decided to strengthen the border in that direction. At the same time, the president pointed out that it is necessary to maintain good relations with Ukrainians and residents of border areas who have crossed into Belarus under a simplified regime during the mushroom and berry picking season.

“I made a decision: we will conduct exercises and as a result, we will determine in what directions we should keep armed forces. Then we met with Putin, and I said to him, ‘Let’s conduct joint exercises.’ After all, the air defense is common, we have many similarities, we are creating training centers. Russia has provided us with weapons, S-400s, Iskanders, and other modern equipment for us to study. He agreed, saying, ‘Alright, we will join.’ And they joined. So they scream that we are creating something against Ukraine. In fact, it’s a completely different background,” Alexander Lukashenko explained.

“Today they yell: ‘When are you withdrawing the troops (Russian troops from Belarus)?’ Listen, that’s a matter for Putin and me. We will meet soon and make a decision about when, what deadlines, what timetable for withdrawing the Russian Armed Forces from here. That’s our business,” the Belarusian president emphasized.