Ukraine warns Belarus: Remove Russian attack equipment or we will

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has issued a strict one-week ultimatum to Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, demanding the immediate removal or deactivation of Russian military equipment hosted on Belarusian soil. Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv on Friday, June 19, Zelensky warned of direct Ukrainian military action if the equipment remains active past the deadline.

According to Zelensky, Russian forces are utilizing signal relay stations positioned in two Belarusian regions directly bordering Ukraine to help guide precision drone and missile attacks against Ukrainian civilians, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.

"What's the point of saying he doesn't want to be in the war? Let him remove this equipment, let him switch it off," Zelensky stated. "I think a week will be enough for him to do that. If he doesn't do it, we'll do it."

The sharp warning follows months of escalating tension, with Kyiv repeatedly raising alarms that Moscow aims to pull Minsk directly into the active conflict. Tensions spiked even further this week after Russia accused Ukraine of a fatal drone strike on a bus transporting Belarusian children through Russian territory—an accusation Kyiv has firmly denied. While Lukashenko has publicly maintained that Ukraine has nothing to fear from his country, Belarus remains Moscow’s closest ally, recently deploying Russia's advanced Oreshnik hypersonic missile system and routinely allowing Russian attack drones to violate its airspace to strike Ukrainian targets.

News.Az 

By Aysel Mammadzada