The self-proclaimed President of Belarus Lukashenko remains Putin's only ally in the war. Other countries take a rather reserved position (China, India), and the majority are on the side of Ukraine.
So far, Putin and Lukashenko are most concerned about winning the war against Ukraine. They met again today, probably to discuss a “plan of action.” Valery Kovalevsky, head of the cabinet of representatives of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, told Channel 24 about this.
Topic No. 1 for Putin and Lukashenko is “What to do with this war, how to win it.” We must remember that Lukashenka is directly involved in this war from the first day,” he said.
What Putin wants
According to Kovalevsky, it is important for Putin to force Lukashenka to take more active actions. At the first stage, we saw that the Belarusian society was categorically against armed aggression against Ukraine. The Belarusian propaganda machine is doing everything possible to “normalize” the war – to show that it is something inevitable. Moreover, Ukraine is being made into a real enemy that threatens Belarus. Now exercises are being conducted in the south of Belarus and they are preparing for an attack from Ukraine. True, this is an absolute absurdity, because in such conditions Ukraine will not attack.
“Belarusians are gradually getting used to the fact that war is possible. And it is better to respond to the threat first than to wait until Ukraine attacks,” – the speaker explained.
Putin may order Lukashenka to invade Ukraine
Kovalevsky is convinced that there is a possibility of talking about an attack on Ukraine from Belarus. This is evidenced by the meeting of Defense Ministers Shoigu and Khrenin, Lavrov's visit to Minsk, where the United Russia party is visiting, and Putin's arrival in Grodno.
Putin flies to Grodno, because he belongs there. He feels that Belarus is in his pocket, everything is under his control, so you can feel “at home”. He no longer visits any state, – Kovalevsky stressed.
Could the Belarusian army not follow the order
It is believed that Lukashenka has already ordered the introduction of troops into Ukraine. This assumption may be true. “We will know the truth when democratic changes take place in Belarus, and we can get the relevant documents that show what happened in those days. Undoubtedly, Lukashenka considered this issue. However, he was stopped by the categorical protest of the Belarusian people.”
“The risks of such an attitude of the Belarusians to the war significantly exceeded the advantages that Putin and Lukashenko could get. The Belarusian troops could simply go over to the side of Ukraine,” Kovalevsky believes
He added that the Belarusian army can show better performance, than the Russian one, because it is more monolithic. At the same time, the Belarusian army has shown that it is part of the Belarusian community, which does not need this war. They clearly state: “We do not want to fight against the Ukrainians for Russian interests,” he concluded.
