[91746] Zelensky issues an ultimatum to Lukashenko: one week to remove military infrastructure on the border

Peak tension between Kyiv and Minsk: Zelensky issues an ultimatum to Lukashenko

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a clear ultimatum to Alexander Lukashenko last night: Belarus must remove within one week military equipment and radio infrastructure located along the border that assist Russian forces in directing fire toward Ukrainian territory. According to a report on Zelenskiy / Official, the President clarified that if the demand is not met, Ukraine will act on its own to remove the threats, emphasizing that this is equipment leading to the deaths of Ukrainian civilians and children every day.

The ultimatum comes after a controversial incident in Bryansk, Russia, in which a bus with Belarusian civilians was hit. While representatives of Minsk, as noted in Times of Ukraine, threatened a military response against Kyiv, claiming it was a Ukrainian attack, intelligence officials in Ukraine reject this completely. SBU / Реальна Війна report that this is a "special operation" by Russian security services intended to incite conflict between the countries.

Analysts at ТСН новини point out that the Russian move matches a pattern of an "information and psychological operation" (IPSO) aimed at discrediting Ukraine on the international stage and dragging Belarus officially into the war. Conversely, Ukrainian sources such as Київ ІНФО report that Lukashenko apologized to Zelensky for previous statements and tried to calm tensions, likely out of an understanding that the Ukrainian army is capable of hitting strategic infrastructure within Belarusian territory.

Zelensky added that Belarus currently serves as a "central fuel supplier for the Russian army" and called on Lukashenko to cease this support, as it strengthens the Kremlin's war machine. Prominent Ukrainian media outlets, including Україна Online, highlight Kyiv's skepticism toward the Belarusian leader's statements and emphasize that words are less important than actions on the ground along the shared border.