MOSCOW, March 11. /TASS/. Ukraine would have attacked Belarus but for Russia’s preventive strike, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said at a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on Friday.

"I will show you from where they wished to attack Belarus. But for Russia’s preventive strike, they would have attacked Russian and Belarusian troops that were conducting exercises at the moment," Lukashenko said. "We did not start this war. Our conscience is clear. It’s good we began to act. Take the biological weapons and the largest nuclear power plants. They were ready to blow up everything. We can see what is going on at Chernobyl," he added.

He stressed that "slowly but surely people begin to understand what is what and on whose side truth is."

"Had this not been done (preventive strike carried out) one day ahead, believe me, we would be forced to have this bitter cup and experience great losses. Let me say once again, they had plans for attacking not Donbass alone. They were in a position for a strike against Belarus, too," Lukashenko said. "There is no point of presenting excuses."

"Had a preventive strike not been carried out six hours ahead of the operation against four positions - I will show them on the map I’ve brought - they would have attacked our forces," Lukashenko said.

He stressed that foreign mercenaries were now moving towards the Chernobyl nuclear power plant with the aim of dragging Belarus into hostilities.

"Today, as I said yesterday, these foreign mercenaries are moving along the border with Belarus towards the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Three aspects are of importance: first, they wish to cut the routes being used by Russian forces for a stab in the back, as I said; secondly, they are targeting the positions of those troops remaining after the Belarusian-Russian exercises; and third, they still hope to drag us into hostilities to force us to leave the western flank unprotected," Lukashenko said.