MINSK, September 1. /TASS/. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Thursday that a conflict is brewing in Ukraine between the military and the country’s president and that its peak should be expected in the near future.
"There is a conflict mounting between the president and military. Only military servicemen can say boldly: ‘We must reach an agreement otherwise Ukraine could be wiped off the face of the earth," Lukashenko revealed during an open discussion aired live on Thursday.
According to the Belarusian leader everything depends in Ukraine "not on the president, but on the military."
"They [the military] are getting slaughtered there. They see no prospects. Take a look at Ukraine’s west; the Poles are rubbing their hands, and are already carving up Ukraine’s land," Lukashenko said adding that "the peak is expected very soon."
The Belarusian head of state believes that the people of Ukraine "should have their say, because the president has nothing to say."
Lukashenko also said it was abnormal "that cargoes of foodstuffs and grain are being transported to Europe," when there is nothing to eat for the people of Ukraine.
The United Nations repeatedly noted that food exports from Ukraine are carried out as part of commercial operations, their destination is determined by private companies based on their own interests.
The situation in Ukraine and the sweeping sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States and the European Union led to disruptions in grain supplies, which raises the risk of a food crisis in a number of countries.
Since the beginning of the year, prices for wheat and corn have significantly surged. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov previously stated that the global food crisis had begun long before the start of Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine. In particular it was caused by the pandemic and miscalculations by Western countries, he specified.
Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine
The situation along the line of engagement in Donbass escalated on February 17. The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) reported back then the worst wave of bombardments by the Ukrainian military, which damaged civilian infrastructure and caused civilian casualties.
On February 21, President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow was recognizing the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. Russia signed agreements on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance with their leaders. Moscow recognized the Donbass republics in accordance with the DPR and LPR constitutions within the boundaries of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions as of the beginning of 2014.
Russian President Putin announced on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics for assistance he had decided to carry out a special military operation in Ukraine. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories, noting that the operation was aimed at the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine.
The DPR and the LPR launched an operation to liberate their territories under Kiev’s control.