Military activity not aimed at Ukraine, If you want peace, prepare for war, says Lukashenko

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says recent military activity was not aimed at Ukraine and dismisses “conspiracy theories” about armed forces being deployed at the border.

Speaking at a conference of military leaders marking the end of snap military inspections held this month, Lukashenko said that he could not rule out “aggression” against Belarus on the part of unspecified “neighbours”.

“If you want peace, prepare for war,” Lukashenko added, saying that military moves were limited to Belarusian territory and did not threaten anyone else.

In recent weeks, Belarus has announced military-readiness checks and a new deployment of Russian troops.

But the manoeuvres prompted fears from Ukrainian officials to believe that Russia may be planning a new attack on Ukraine through Belarus.