Ukraine has threatened to take military action against Belarus as soon as next weekend if it does not dismantle relay equipment on Belarusian territory.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has given self-proclaimed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko – Vladimir Putin’s staunch ally – seven days to remove the equipment used to guide Russian drone strikes against Ukrainian cities.
‘I think one week will be enough for him to do this,’ Zelensky said at a joint press conference with Honduran President Nasry Asfura in Kyiv on Friday.
‘Why do I say one week? Because every day now, our civilians are dying and children are being injured because of this. If he does not do this, we will do it ourselves.
Zelensky also called on Lukashenko to halt supplies of petroleum products that are being used used by Russian forces in the war.
‘Today he is the main supplier, or one of the main suppliers, to the Russian army,’ he said.
‘It is Lukashenko, it is Belarus. Can this be stopped? I am convinced it is within his power. And that is something he directly controls.’
While Minsk has not formally entered the war with its own troops, it has allowed Russia to fire missiles and drones from its soil and airspace, host Russian forces and nuclear weapons, and support Russian logistics, training and military infrastructure.
