Ukraine recalls ambassador to Belarus over Lukashenko’s meeting with Russian proxy leader

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry recalled its ambassador to Minsk following Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko’s meeting with the leader of Russia's proxy administration in occupied Donetsk Oblast.

Lukashenko met in Minsk with Denis Pushilin, leader of Russia's proxy administration in occupied Donetsk Oblast, according to a Belarusian state media report on April 18.

In a statement on their website, the Foreign Ministry condemned Lukashenko’s meeting and called it “an attempt to legitimize this representative of the Russian occupation administration in Donetsk.”

The foreign ministry announced that it would summon the Ukrainian ambassador to Belarus Igor Kizim back to Kyiv for consultations.

Pushilin is under both Ukrainian and international sanctions, according to the Foreign Ministry, and Lukashenko’s meeting with him represented “another and blatant unfriendly act on the part of the Republic of Belarus aimed at supporting the aggressor state of the Russian Federation,” the foreign ministry said.

The Foreign Ministry called on Minsk to stop supporting Russia’s war on Ukraine. While Belarus has not officially joined Russia’s war, it has allowed Russia to use its territory to launch attacks against Ukraine.