Zelenskyy Warns Belarus To Remove Signaling Equipment Used By Russia For Attacks
by RFE/RL's Belarus Service · Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty · JoinUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned neighboring Belarus -- a close ally of Russia -- to remove signaling equipment used by the Kremlin to target Ukraine or, he said, Kyiv would do the job itself.
"What's the point of saying he [Belarus strongman Aleksandr Lukashenko] doesn't want to be in the war? Let him remove this equipment, let him switch it off. I think a week will be enough for him to do that," Zelenskyy told a Kyiv news conference on June 19.
"If he doesn't do it, we'll do it," he said, without elaborating.
Zelenskyy said the signal relay stations were in two Belarusian regions on the border with Ukraine and were used by Russian forces to help with the navigation process during attacks on Ukrainian civilians.
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The report could not independently be verified.
Throughout the next day, Russia continued to pound Ukrainian cities, leaving at least four people dead in the country's partly occupied Zaporizhzhya region and at least one more person dead in the northern Kharkiv region.
A Kharkiv resident who spoke with RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service said a Russian guided bomb strike destroyed her home and injured her daughter when the roof collapsed onto her legs. "She was screaming that her legs hurt terribly," she added.
At the news conference on June 19, Zelenskyy also spoke of Belarus's oil refining assets, alleging the country had become a major supplier to Russia and that Lukashenko could put a stop to it.
"Today he is the main supplier, or one of the main suppliers, for the Russian Army. Specifically Lukashenko, specifically Belarus," Zelenskyy said.
"Can this be stopped? I’m sure it's within his power. And he's the one controlling it," he added.
Kyiv has been stepping up its attacks on Russia's oil infrastructure and storage sites, often hitting deep inside the country -- including near the capital, Moscow -- creating shortages in Russia and driving up prices for civilians.
In the latest such attack on June 20, Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian drones had struck oil refinery in Russia's Tyumen region in western Siberia, located almost 2,000 kilometers from the front line in Ukraine.
Under Lukashenko, Belarus is Russia's close military ally and has backed Moscow's war against Ukraine, providing logistical support and echoing Kremlin threats toward NATO. However, it has not joined Russia in its full-scale invasion launched in February 2022.
Belarus, like Russia, has faced crippling sanctions from the United States and the West, although Lukashenko has made efforts to improve ties with Washington, including through the release of some jailed opponents and political prisoners, although many remain behind bars in Belarus.
Lukashenko has held power since 1994. He retained power in the 2020 presidential elections, claiming victory despite widespread claims of fraud from the Belarusian opposition and the West.
Zelenskyy Warns Belarus To Remove Signaling Equipment Used By Russia For Attacks
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