©picture alliance / TheKremlinMoscow-SvenSimon | The Kremlin Moscow
On June 14, 2026, Belarusian President Aliaksandr Lukashenko publicly apologized in an interview with Al Arabiya TV for his earlier harsh remarks directed at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “If Volodymyr Zelensky felt offended, I apologize for those words. Perhaps I shouldn’t have been so harsh, given that he is at war,” Lukashenko said.
Important nuances in the Belarusian president’s apology
Lukashenko did not, however, apologize for Belarus’s participation in the war or for the launch of Russian missiles from Belarusian territory. The apology was solely for his personal remarks directed at Zelensky. He explained that his comments were a response to Ukrainian threats, in which Kyiv had identified 500 targets in Belarus. Immediately after the apology, he added further criticism: “You get what you give,” and called Zelensky “young and inexperienced” and “not a military man.”
Ukraine Tightened Sanctions Against Lukashenko
At the same time, Zelensky had already announced in February that Ukraine had imposed sanctions on Lukashenko. “The countermeasures against all forms of his assistance in killing Ukrainians will be significantly stepped up,” the Ukrainian president said at the time. According to Zelensky, the new measures reflect Lukashenko’s greater involvement in the Russian war. In the second half of 2025, Russia deployed “a system of relay stations for controlling attack drones” on Belarusian territory, which has increased Russia’s ability to carry out attacks on the northern regions of Ukraine.
Belarus as a Military Platform for Russia
Russia has been using Belarusian territory since the start of the invasion in 2022. Despite Putin’s efforts to fully draw Minsk into the war, Belarus has not become directly involved in the fighting. But the situation has changed dramatically: more than 3,000 Belarusian companies are supplying Russia with machinery, equipment, and parts that are crucial to the war, including components for missile production. Infrastructure is also being built to station medium-range missiles on Belarusian territory.
Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for more than 30 years and depends on Russian subsidies, allowed Russia in February 2022 to use Belarusian territory for troop deployments toward Ukraine. Belarusian opposition leader Tsikhanouskaya said that four years later, Belarus is “deeply involved—but not through Belarusian soldiers on the battlefield.” The regime is making territory, logistics, industry, training grounds, and infrastructure available to the Russian armed forces. Zelensky says that Lukashenko “is squandering Belarus’s sovereignty in exchange for maintaining his personal power” and is helping the Russians circumvent global sanctions. Ukraine fears that Russia is dragging Belarus ever deeper into the war.
©picture alliance / TheKremlinMoscow-SvenSimon | The Kremlin Moscow - illustrative image of a meeting between the Belarusian and Russian presidents.