Russia's Lavrov accuses Zelensky of intimidating Belarus, calls Ukrainian president 'Fuehrer'

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov categorized President Volodymyr Zelensky as a "Fuehrer" at a roundtable on June 23 in response to him accusing Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko of facilitating Russian drone attacks against Ukraine.

Zelensky warned Lukashenko on June 19 that Belarus would have one week to remove the equipment that facilitates Russia's attacks or Kyiv would take action itself, remarks which Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Lukashenko and Russian leader Vladimir Putin would discuss "in the foreseeable future."

Lavrov said that Zelensky "was cast in the role of the Fuehrer, plucked from an amateur theater group, but as you can see, this image has turned out to be contagious," in remarks made to ambassadors about bringing the war to an end, according to Russian government-controlled RIA Novosti channel, blocked in the EU because of its open support for Russia's war against Ukraine.

Russia's comparison of Ukraine to Nazi Germany is a long-standing trope of Russian propaganda narratives aiming to justify the country's illegal invasion and the war crimes committed by Russian troops in Ukraine.

Zelensky's remarks are "obviously aimed at dragging Belarus directly into the conflict and expanding the geography of hostilities," Russian state-affiliated media Interfax has also reported Lavrov as saying.

Throughout the years, Russia has repeatedly involved Belarus in its war against Ukraine. The country was used as one of several entry points at the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, from which Russian troops occupied the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, before launching a failed assault on Kyiv.

Since then, Russia has used Belarus as a launchpad for its ongoing air assaults on Ukraine and has been using Belarusian stockpiles to replenish its military hardware losses throughout the war.

Recently, Zelensky had accused Lukashenko of making it easier for Russia to use its territory to attack Ukraine by installing signal repeaters that navigate the Kremlin's drones over Belarus.

As recently as June 22, Belarus' democratic opposition presented Zelensky with a document outlining signs suggesting that Lukashenko might be preparing his country for war.

Zelensky's ultimatum to Lukashenko is set to expire on June 26.