The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has responded to scandalous statements by Alyaksandr Lukashenka about Ukraine's alleged involvement in the explosion of a Russian plane at an airfield in Belarus.
"We categorically reject the allegations of Alyaksandr Lukashenka about the alleged involvement of the Ukrainian side in the events at the Machulishchy airfield. Obviously, this is yet another attempt to make up a threat from Ukraine to justify its support for Russia's aggression. The threat is not to be found in Ukraine, which is fighting for itself and seeking peace. The threat lies in Russia, which is trying by all means to further involve Belarus in the war, to finally deprive it of its independence and sovereignty," Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko said.
He also commented on Lukashenka's personal insults to Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"Alyaksandr Lukashenka also allowed himself a rude personal attack on the president of Ukraine. We will leave this act of impotence unanswered," he said.
Lukashenka said that Ukraine had challenged Belarus with the act of "sabotage" against the A-50 surveillance aircraft at the Machulishchy airfield. He also called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "nit" for this.
On 26 February, explosions were heard at the Machulishchy military airfield in Belarus. Later, it was reported that a Russian A-50 military aircraft was damaged.