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Russia underestimated Ukrainian resistance when launching its operation — Lukashenko

Asked to comment on the journalist's suggestion that the miscalculation was caused by misinformation on the part of some Ukrainian politicians, the Belarusian leader called it "ridiculous"

MINSK, August 18. /TASS/. Russia probably underestimated the potential resistance on the part of Ukraine at the very start of its special military operation, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said.

"There possibly was a certain underestimation of the situation," Lukashenko said in an interview with Ukrainian journalist Diana Panchenko. A video of the interview was uploaded to her YouTube channel.

"Probably, the military made a mistake when they expected Ukraine not to engage in military actions, when they thought that there will be no casualties and no hostilities," Lukashenko said, explaining that "Russia probably did not expected this degree [of military action]."

When asked to comment on the journalist’s suggestion that miscalculation was caused by disinformation on the part of certain Ukrainian politicians, the Belarusian leader dismissed it as "laughable."

"In a country like Russia, you would expect the decision-making process in the General Staff to be swift. However, all [contradicting opinions] were put forward and discussed in the process," he said. "Only a person with absolutely no knowledge of the decision-making process can assume that someone can put forward a false assumption and a decision will be made based solely upon it.".

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Belarus Alexander Lukashenko

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