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Military operation in Ukraine

Russian units crossed into Ukraine from Belarus when special operation began — Lukashenko

Lukashenko explained that large-scale Russian-Belarusian exercises were held on the territory of Belarus in January and February 2022, with the participation of military units from the Russian Far East

MINSK, August 17. /TASS/. Some units of the Russian Armed Forces crossed the Ukrainian border from the territory of Belarus at the beginning of the special military operation, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said.

"Yes, some units [of the Russian Armed Forces] crossed the border of Ukraine from the territory of Belarus. <...> Why Russian troops crossed the border of Belarus and Ukraine in the Chernobyl Region you may ask [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky," Lukashenko said in an interview with Ukrainian journalist Diana Panchenko. A video of the interview was uploaded to her YouTube channel.

Lukashenko explained that large-scale Russian-Belarusian exercises were held on the territory of Belarus in January and February 2022, with the participation of military units from the Russian Far East.

"The question of why [Russian President Vladimir] Putin decided to re-position his troops back to the Far East via Kiev should be referred to Zelensky," the Belarusian leader added.

"There are no reasons for you to blame me. Not a single member of the Belarusian armed forces was there. We did not cross this border, but you were the ones to provoke us," Lukashenko said, addressing the people of Ukraine.

He went on to say that before the start of the special military operation, Kiev deployed missile units near the border with Belarus, including those that have Tochka-U missiles in service.

"Our military intelligence was tracking them. First, they removed tarpaulin covers, then raised them into a firing position and aimed them against us. That is why they had to be taken into account during the Russian operation. The Russians destroyed them before anything else," Lukashenko said.

"We are being accused of letting this conflict happen. No way, the conflict has already been under way and you [the Ukrainians] were the ones to unleash it, to unleash this war against Belarus. I’m talking about the economic war in the first place. You were the ones to impose a blockade in southern regions. You were the ones to close your airspace for our planes even before Europe did. You did not permit our cargo transit. And then, you imposed arrest on thousands of rail carriages with mineral fertilizers in the port of Odessa, which were loaded here," the Belarusian president added.

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Ukraine Belarus Alexander Lukashenko Vladimir Zelensky Military operation in Ukraine

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