MINSK, July 22. /TASS/. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko highlighted his support for Russia’s decision to launch a special military operation in Ukraine in an interview with Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"I do support Russia. Not only because we have a union with Russia. And not only because we are legally obliged to do it based on an agreement with Russia aimed at creating a joint group of forces in the western direction, with the Belarusian army being the bulk of it. It’s been a well-known fact for a while, it is our doctrine," Lukashenko noted.

"The reason is that had not Russia outmaneuvered you, NATO members, you would have got organized and dealt a blow to Russia," Lukashenko noted.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation based on a request from the heads of the Donbass republics. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans to occupy Ukrainian territories and the goal was to demilitarize and denazify the country. In response, the West imposed major sanctions on Russia.