Lukashenko commented on the participation of Belarusian troops in the war and saw an escalation

Illustrative photo from open sources

Self-proclaimed President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has clearly hinted that Belarusian troops will not fight in Ukraine, since this would be a “step towards escalation” of the war. This was reported by the Institute for the Study of War.

In addition, he also questioned the likely attempts of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to involve North Korean troops in Russia's war against Ukraine.

Analysts recall how Lukashenko called the words about North Korean troops planning to fight alongside Russian troops in Ukraine “nonsense.” Allegedly, Putin “will never try to convince” another state to involve its army in Russia's war in Ukraine, and that the deployment of armed forces of any state, including Belarus, on the front line in Ukraine would be a “step toward escalation” of the war.

“Lukashenko claimed that if “we” (Belarusians) are drawn into the war, it will be “a path to escalation,” and that NATO will deploy troops in Ukraine in response to another country's intervention,” the article says.

He asks:""How do you know that I gave permission to use the territory of Belarus?"

When he was told that Belarusian territory was used for the invasion, Lukashenko said:

"We had exercises in which several thousand Russian soldiers were involved. Putin began to withdraw these troops from Belarus. They were in the south of Belarus – and along this road past the border with Ukraine, he began to withdraw these troops."

"At some point, he redirected some of these troops to Kyiv. I am sure that they were provoked. It depends on Putin how he will withdraw his troops. Through Kyiv. “But he could have left through Minsk,” added the Belarusian dictator.