Minsk to Respond Instantly if Baltics, Poland Display Aggression — Lukashenko

According to the Belarusian leader, the response will be overwhelming

© Ilya Pitalev/POOL/TASS

MINSK, August 17. /TASS/. Belarus will instantly respond if Ukraine, the Baltics or Poland act aggressively against it, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said.

"There can only be one threat: aggression against our country. If aggression begins even on the part of Ukraine, on the part of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, we will respond instantly with everything that we have," he said replying to a question on the matter in an interview with Ukrainian journalist Diana Panchenko published on her YouTube channel.

According to the Belarusian leader, the response will be overwhelming. "We are not competing with them. Yet we will deliver an overwhelming strike on them and they will end up with an overwhelming loss, damage," he noted.

Lukashenko assured that nuclear weapons located in Belarus would not be used if there is no aggression against Minsk. However, if it does happen, Belarus will not wait or delay and will use "the entire arsenal," he added.

Russia underestimated Ukrainian resistance when launching its operation — Lukashenko

Asked to comment on the journalist's suggestion that the miscalculation was caused by misinformation on the part of some Ukrainian politicians, the Belarusian leader called it "ridiculous"

MINSK, August 18. /TASS/. Russia probably underestimated the potential resistance on the part of Ukraine at the very start of its special military operation, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said.

"There possibly was a certain underestimation of the situation," Lukashenko said in an interview with Ukrainian journalist Diana Panchenko. A video of the interview was uploaded to her YouTube channel.

"Probably, the military made a mistake when they expected Ukraine not to engage in military actions, when they thought that there will be no casualties and no hostilities," Lukashenko said, explaining that "Russia probably did not expected this degree [of military action]."

When asked to comment on the journalist’s suggestion that miscalculation was caused by disinformation on the part of certain Ukrainian politicians, the Belarusian leader dismissed it as "laughable."

"In a country like Russia, you would expect the decision-making process in the General Staff to be swift. However, all [contradicting opinions] were put forward and discussed in the process," he said. "Only a person with absolutely no knowledge of the decision-making process can assume that someone can put forward a false assumption and a decision will be made based solely upon it.".

Russian-Ukrainian ties can be mended, but it requires serious work — Belarusian president

In Lukashenko’s opinion, negotiations of this kind should involve all interested parties, including Belarus

MINSK, August 18. /TASS/. Future relations between Russia and Ukraine can be improved, but this effort would require serious practical work, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said.

"[The new ties] can be created, but it would require a consistent movement in this direction. If we just talk, but take no practical actions, we will hardly achieve anything. The first step would be to sit at the negotiating table," Lukashenko said in an interview with Ukrainian journalist Diana Panchenko. A video of the interview was uploaded to her YouTube channel.

In Lukashenko’s opinion, negotiations of this kind should involve all interested parties, including Belarus.