Zelensky says Lukashenko apologized for missile strikes on Ukraine from Belarusian territory
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that at the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko apologized for missile strikes launched from Belarusian territory.
In an interview with U.S. podcaster Lex Fridman, published on Sunday, Zelensky said the two leaders spoke by phone just days after Russia’s February 2022 invasion.
“[He] apologized and he said, ‘It was not me. Missiles were launched from my territory, and Putin was the one launching them.’ These are his words. ‘I have witnesses and I apologize,’ he said. […] ‘Volodymyr, this is not me. I’m not in charge,’ he told me.”
Zelensky said he confronted Lukashenko, accusing him of complicity in the attacks. “I told him, ‘You are a murderer too.’ […] He told me, ‘You must understand, you can’t fight the Russians.’ I told him that we never fought them. ‘It’s war. The missiles came from your land, from Belarus. How did you allow this?’” Zelensky recounted. According to Zelensky, Lukashenko suggested retaliating against the Mozyr Oil Refinery, emphasizing its personal importance to him. “I told him, ‘What are you on about? What retaliation?’” Zelensky said.
Update: Aleksandr Lukashenko's press secretary, Natalya Eismont, told RBC that he did not apologize to Volodymyr Zelensky. “For the simple reason that we have nothing to apologize for. First and foremost, because Ukraine, as we remember, was the first to impose sanctions against Belarus, before even America and the entire West,” she said.
The Mozyr Oil Refinery, one of Belarus’s largest, processes primarily Russian crude oil. It is located in the Gomel region, which borders Ukraine.
In the spring of 2024, Lukashenko warned that Ukraine would face a “tenfold response” if its drones targeted the Mozyr refinery, claiming he had received intelligence that such an attack was under consideration.
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