Ukraine is considering a possible threat in a war with Russia from Belarus, but is not drawing hasty conclusions about the nature of its participation in the war.
This was stated in an interview with Channel 24 by the Deputy Head of the President's Office, Brigadier General Pavlo Palisa.
“As long as there is a regime loyal to Putin in Belarus, we will always potentially view Belarus as a threat,” he noted.
Palisa recalled that on the eve of the Russian Federation's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, unrecognized by a number of democratic countries, declared that his country would never attack Ukraine.
“We all remember the result. So we are taking this threat into account and responding accordingly,” the official said.
He also commented on the host's words that during the recent massive attack, Russian drones bypassed Belarusian territory and did not cross its borders.
“If it (Russia, — ed.) is not launching from the territory of Belarus, then perhaps it is using some equipment that helps control those drones from the territory of Belarus,” Palisa said.
On May 15, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Moscow was trying to further draw the Belarusian authorities into the war against Ukraine and was planning an attack on Ukraine from the territory of Belarus.
Against this background, he instructed the Defense Forces to prepare a plan to respond to threats from Belarus, as well as to strengthen the Chernihiv-Kyiv direction.