The Belarusian president has used harsh words to describe the Ukrainian leader’s actions
The president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has said he once thought of Vladimir Zelensky like a son but that the Ukrainian leader has acted like a “bastard” in the course of the conflict.
Lukashenko made the remarks on Friday in an interview with Russian journalist Olga Skabeeva, published on her Telegram channel.
Skabeeva recalled Lukashenko’s previous comments on Zelensky’s future and noted that the Belarusian president had used different words to describe him.
“Volodya [a diminutive for Vladimir – Ed.] was like a son to me, but he acted like a bastard,” Lukashenko said, without elaborating.
He has previously used harsh words to describe Zelensky’s decisions, accusing him of attempting to drag Belarus into Kiev’s conflict with Moscow.
In 2023, after a Russian A-50 surveillance aircraft sustained minor damage in a drone attack on a Belarusian air base, Lukashenko said the assault had been carried out by a “terrorist” recruited by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and called Zelensky “scum.”
Zelensky had “been making circles around Belarus,” Lukashenko said at the time, proposing a UN-backed “non-aggression pact” between Kiev and Minsk while “at the same time” backing terrorist operations.
“I know that they want to drag us into the war on the order of the Americans,” he said.
Lukashenko said he had warned Kiev of potential consequences of changes to the US leadership, adding that Zelensky should have negotiated and halted hostilities long ago.
He recalled urging the Ukrainian in 2022 not to “look for the guilty” but to seek an end to the conflict.
“I told him: remember, this is a classic story. Tomorrow the leadership in America will change and where will you be then?” Lukashenko said.
Under former US President Joe Biden’s administration, Washington had been Ukraine’s biggest supporter, committing billions in military aid. US President Donald Trump has criticized Zelensky for a lack of gratitude toward the US and accused him of refusing to pursue a peaceful resolution with Moscow.
This week, the US and Ukraine issued a joint statement proposing a 30-day ceasefire after talks in Saudi Arabia. The proposal followed high-level discussions between Russian and US delegations in Riyadh and Ankara.
On Thursday, US special envoy Steve Witkoff traveled to Moscow to formally present the details of the initiative to Russian officials. At a press conference later that day, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the idea of a ceasefire “a good one” but pointed to a number of issues that would have to be addressed beforehand.
