Self-proclaimed Belarusian president Aleksandr Lukashenko told Russian propagandist Pavel Zarubin that Ukraine risks ceasing to exist unless President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agrees to negotiate with Moscow.
Belarus allowed Russian forces to use its territory as a staging ground for the February 2022 invasion, providing the shortest route to Kyiv.
Russian troops have remained stationed there since, using Belarusian soil to launch missile and drone attacks into Ukraine.
Belarus continues to host Russian military assets and conduct joint exercises. The country has also engaged in psychological operations to pressure Ukraine, such as creating fears of a new offensive originating from Belarusian territory.
Lukashenko said he initially blamed European leaders for the war's continuation but now he sees the primary obstacle in Zelenskyy himself.
"The issue here is not with the USA, not with Russia, and not with European leaders, but rather the problem lies more with Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy," he told Zarubin.
Belarusian dictator asserted that Zelenskyy can only make decisions under significant external pressure, and argued such pressure must be applied immediately. He justified this urgency by pointing to Russian military advances on the front lines, which he claims threaten Ukraine's existence as a sovereign entity. Lukashenko offered no evidence for either assertion.
Meanwhile, President Zelenskyy previously said Russia has failed to capture the full Donetsk Oblast despite years of fighting and cannot occupy the remaining Ukrainian-held territory anytime soon. Even in the worst scenario, a complete Russian occupation would take years and enormous casualties, he added.
He also alleged that Ukraine's western neighbors harbor territorial ambitions over western Ukrainian regions, though he provided no specific evidence for this claim.
He urged Zelenskyy to recognize that "no one will bring him happiness on Ukrainian territory except Slavic states."
On potential US weapons deliveries, Lukashenko dismissed Donald Trump's statements about providing Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. He characterized Trump's approach as tactical, involving alternating pressure and withdrawal.
Zelenskyy dismissed Lukashenko's peace proposal
The current exchange follows an incident from September when Lukashenko expressed interest in speaking directly with Zelenskyy and proposed what he described as a favorable offer to end the war with Russia.
Zelenskyy responded by saying it was difficult to react to Lukashenko's proposal because the Belarusian leader "lives in his own world." The Ukrainian president added that "he's in his own world, but putin sometimes visits, and they babble, two old men."
According to reports, Lukashenko took offense at these remarks, stating he had considered Zelenskyy "his son."
Recent US-Belarus warming
Relations between Washington and Minsk have warmed considerably in 2025 following direct engagement between Trump and Lukashenko via a phone call. In September, Belarus released 52 political prisoners, prompting the US to lift sanctions on Belavia airlines.
The shift culminated in American military officers attending the Russia-Belarus "Zapad-2025" military exercises—the first US presence at such drills since the 2022 full-scale invasion began.
Western analysts view the warming ties as either an attempt to distance Belarus from Russia or to leverage Minsk's close relationship with Moscow in potential Ukraine war negotiations, though such strategies are considered unlikely to succeed.
US military officers attend Zapad-2025 exercises in Belarus for first time since full-scale invasion
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Belarus allowed Russian forces to use its territory as a staging ground for the February 2022 invasion, providing the shortest route to Kyiv.
Russian troops have remained stationed there since, using Belarusian soil to launch missile and drone attacks into Ukraine.
Belarus continues to host Russian military assets and conduct joint exercises. The country has also engaged in psychological operations to pressure Ukraine, such as creating fears of a new offensive originating from Belarusian territory.
