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By Jon Jackson
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Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday he first learned Vladimir Putin had invaded Ukraine from watching the Russian president speak on TV.
During an interview with pro-Kremlin Ukrainian journalist Diana Panchenko that was broadcast online, Lukashenko went so far as to swear Putin hadn't discussed an attack date with him before the war's start.
The Belarusian leader has not only been one of Putin's closest allies. Belarus was used as a launch site for part of Russia's invasion, which occurred on February 24, 2022. Throughout the war, Lukashenko has remained a steadfast supporter of Russia, and a deal was made for Putin to deploy some nuclear weapons in Belarus this summer.
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"You watched his speech on TV [after the start of the war]. So did I," Lukashenko told Panchenko when she asked when Putin told him he was going to attack, according to state-owned Belarusian news agency BelTA. "This is the first thing. We had not had any discussions prior to the start of the operation."
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The Belarusian president added, "I swear to you that we had never had any talks about Russia taking any action against Ukraine."
Lukashenko went on to tell Panchenko that he had met with Putin at the Russian president's country residence "a few days or a day" before the invasion. He said Putin discussed the "current situation" in Ukraine and expressed his hope that they would remain allies "no matter what may happen."
Newsweek reached out to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs via email for comment.
Along with frequently voicing his public support of Putin's war in Ukraine, Lukashenko played a crucial role in brokering peace between the Kremlin and Yevgeny Prigozhin when the Wagner Group leader ordered his mercenary fighters to rise up against Moscow in late June. Prigozhin ended the mutiny the day after he announced it, and he reportedly agreed to go into exile in Belarus. (The Wagner boss has since been spotted in Russia, most recently during a Putin-hosted summit with African leaders in late July.)
According to BelTA's English translation of the interview with Panchenko, Lukashenko said that after he reassured Putin they were allies, the Russian president said, "If anything happens, watch my back, please."
Lukashenko said he referenced Putin's request during a statement the Belarusian president made during the early days of the war.
"'But we will not allow shooting Russians in the back.' Do you remember that phrase of mine?" Lukashenko asked Panchenko, according to BelTA. "It had to do with Putin's request to watch their back. Most likely, he was concerned about a stab in the back from the West."
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