Lukashenko rules out Belarus joining the war, offers to meet Zelenskyy
A look back at the statement by Belarus's president on 21 May 2026 about his country's role in the Russo-Ukrainian war.
What did Minsk signal about its place in the Russo-Ukrainian war? On 21 May 2026, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko said his country would not join the current war. He also said he was ready to meet Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The remarks addressed a question that had shadowed relations between the two neighbours since the start of the full-scale invasion. Belarus is a close ally of Russia and a member of the Union State with it. Before the offensive began, it allowed Russian forces to hold weeks-long military drills on its territory, and the Russian troops did not leave when those drills were meant to end.
Belarus also allowed Russia to stage part of the invasion from its soil, giving Russian forces the shortest land route to Kyiv. Those forces withdrew within two months, ending land-based operations launched from Belarus and allowing Ukraine to recapture its side of the border region.
The situation along the frontier nevertheless remained tense. Ukraine had closed the border checkpoints leading into Belarus, except for special cases. Lukashenko's statement on 21 May 2026 thus combined a pledge of non-participation with an offer of direct talks at the presidential level.
