Lukashenko warns of the danger of a collapse of Russia
The Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko has described the brief uprising of the Wagner mercenary units as a threat to Russia. “If Russia collapses, we will be left under the rubble, we will all die,” Lukashenko said at an awards ceremony in Minsk for high-ranking military officials, according to the Belarusian state news agency Belta on Tuesday.
Lukashenko said he immediately put his country’s armed forces on readiness during the Wagner uprising in Russia. The army as well as the police and special units were brought “to full combat readiness” within a day. Lukashenko, who is a close ally of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, mediated in the conflict with mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin on Saturday. According to the Kremlin, Prigozhin should find refuge in Belarus.
Lukashenko admitted that all those involved initially misjudged the risk of the conflict escalating. Those involved believed that the situation could be resolved in this way. Therefore, neither he nor Putin nor Prigozhin can be described as “heroes”. Two people “collided into each other,” he said, referring to Putin and Prigozhin. “In this case there are no heroes,” added Lukashenko, also criticizing Kremlin chief Putin.
Lukashenko also blamed the West for the escalation of the situation: “The threat of a new global conflict has never been closer than today,” he said. In the region, also near the Belarusian borders, a “new wave of NATO expansion and an unprecedented increase in the capacities of the alliance members” can be observed.