Belarus has accused unnamed external forces of trying to drag the country into the war in Ukraine and warned of growing external pressure, the BBC reports.
"Attempts are being made to expand and deepen the conflict in Ukraine, instigated by the West. Today we clearly sense a desire to drag Belarus into this war," said Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin in a comment published by the military ministry.
Khrenin did not specifically name which countries were behind these actions, but according to "Reuters" his words are likely aimed at Western countries.
The statement comes a day after a publication by the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal, according to which the Kremlin is increasing pressure on Belarus with the aim of once again using its territory for military actions against Ukraine or for operations against NATO countries.
Earlier today, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected this information, stating that it does not correspond to reality.
The Belarusian minister's statement comes against the backdrop of increased tension between Minsk and Kiev over the past week. On June 19, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave the Belarusian authorities a week to dismantle four signal relay stations that, according to Kiev, support Russian drone attacks against Ukraine from Belarusian territory. He warned that otherwise Ukraine would take "retaliatory measures".
On Tuesday, Zelensky said, citing information from the Ukrainian armed forces and intelligence, that the transponders in question were no longer functioning. However, he specified that he did not know whether they had been dismantled or had simply stopped working. These claims cannot be independently verified.
The current tension is developing against the background of the role that Belarus played at the beginning of the war. During the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, Minsk provided its territory for the deployment of Russian troops, who entered northern Ukraine, including in the direction of Kiev. Russian missiles were also launched from Belarusian territory against Ukrainian targets. However, the Belarusian army did not directly participate in the hostilities, and President Alexander Lukashenko has repeatedly stated that he has no intention of sending troops to Ukraine.