Lukashenko to Zelensky: Apologize, but understand - you can't fight the Russians

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko apologized to him shortly after the start of the war for Russia's invasion of Ukraine from Belarus, Ukrinform reported.

"I spoke to Lukashenko on the phone in the first days of the war and he apologized. He said: "It wasn't me, Putin was firing missiles from my territory". These are his words, I have witnesses. (Lukashenko) said: "I apologize", Zelensky said in an interview with American podcaster Lex Friedman.

In response, the Ukrainian president accused his Belarusian counterpart of being the same murderer as Russian leader Vladimir Putin. "I told him: "You are the same murderer", and he told me: "Understand, you can't fight the Russians."

As a kind of compensation, Lukashenko offered Zelensky Ukraine to strike the oil refinery in the Belarusian city of Mozyr. "What are you talking about?", the Ukrainian president replied.

So far, there has been no reaction to the interview from the Belarusian head of state.

Last month, Lukashenko signed an agreement in Minsk with Putin, according to which Russia guarantees the security of Belarus. Then Lukashenko asked Putin for Russia to deploy new weapons systems in Belarus, including hypersonic "Oreshnik" missiles, Ukrinform notes.