Lukashenko says Belarus has 'major' target in Ukraine in its sights
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Belarus has a "major" target in Ukraine in its sights, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko said on May 31, days after Kyiv said it had identified 500 targets in Belarus for potential strikes.
Lukashenko's remarks come amid escalating tensions following joint Belarusian-Russian nuclear drills and warnings from President Volodymyr Zelensky that Kyiv is preparing for a possible northern offensive involving Belarus.
Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, said on May 26 that Ukrainian forces had identified 500 potential targets in Belarus amid growing concerns that Minsk could become more directly involved in the war.
"They may have identified 500 targets," Lukashenko said. "But we have one major target, with precise coordinates, and it is very close to Belarus. They understand that too."
Lukashenko also downplayed the capabilities of Ukrainian troops stationed along the Belarusian border, describing them as "cannon fodder."
The Belarusian dictator further dismissed Zelensky's warnings about a military threat from Belarus.
"The Ukrainian military does not want any war with Belarus. I know that for sure," Lukashenko claimed.
"Because they understand that this means a thousand kilometers of additional front lines, a border — and a difficult border — between Belarus and Ukraine. Do they need that? No."
Zelensky and Lukashenko last met in October 2019 during the Second Forum of Regions of Ukraine and Belarus in Zhytomyr, nearly three years before Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
Relations between Kyiv and Minsk deteriorated sharply after the outbreak of the war. Belarus allowed Russian troops to use its territory to stage the assault on Ukraine's capital in early 2022, drawing widespread international condemnation and prompting Western countries to impose sweeping sanctions on Lukashenko's regime.
Zelensky said on May 21 that Ukraine is prepared to take "preventive" measures against Russia and Belarus in response to potential military threats along its northern border.
Lukashenko's regime "must understand there will be consequences if there is aggression against Ukraine, against our people," Zelensky said, warning that Moscow could seek to draw Belarus more deeply into the war.
The comments came days before French President Emmanuel Macron called Lukashenko on May 24 and cautioned against any further Belarusian involvement in Russia's war against Ukraine.
