Russian President Vladimir Putin’s key ally, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, has begun hinting at what might come next in Russia’s war, and it doesn’t sound pretty. Lukashenko claimed this weekend that he believes it is time for Europe to face a “moral cleansing”. “It’s time for forgetful Europe to do a moral cleansing,” Lukashenko said, without elaborating on what that would entail, according to BelTA. Lukashenko said efforts to fight the Nazis since World War II, or what Russia calls the “Great Patriotic War,” are not over yet — echoing erroneous Russian claims that they are waging war in Ukraine to “de-Nazify ” or to fight the Nazis in Ukraine. It is “a war for the destruction of the Slavic nation, cultures and entire nations. Today we often say that this war is not over yet,” Lukashenko said. “It is not over yet because not all those who participated in the monstrous events of that war have been punished… This war is not over yet because once again, as on the front lines, we are defending our historical memory.” A dire warning: Putin could invade Europe within a year His plans for a “cleansing” of Europe coincide with Lukashenko’s claims that Ukraine is escalating tensions with Belarus. Lukashenko claimed on Sunday that Ukrainian forces fired missiles into Belarus, which he said were successfully shot down by the Belarusian military. “They are provoking us,” he said, without providing evidence that the missiles actually targeted Belarusian military positions. “They are still trying to drag us into the war in Ukraine. The goal is to get rid of both Russia and Belarus in one step.” His alarming remarks come just weeks after Belarusian authorities announced that the government would form a new military unit on the border with Ukraine, form a people’s militia and launch new exercises in preparation for war – moves that raised concerns among American officials that Putin may be relying on Lukashenko to act in Ukraine. Lukashenko warned this weekend that the military forces of Belarus and Russia are united and have formed a single army. The story continues “We are the only country that supports the Russians in this fight. Those who accuse us, did you not know that we have the closest alliance with the Russian Federation? With a state with which we are building a single, strong, independent state,” Lukashenko said, adding that he had long decided that Belarus would join the war. “We were and will continue to be together with brotherly Russia.” The uptick in belligerent statements coming from Belarus comes days after Lukashenko and Putin met at the Constantine Palace in St Petersburg, where Putin suggested the two countries were coming closer than ever. Putin’s favorite Copycat prepares in a wartime panic However, Lukashenko worked to walk back some of his statements and tried to convey that Belarus has no intentions of attacking Ukraine or going to war with Ukraine. “We don’t need this war,” he said. Ukrainian intelligence officials have sought to play down Russian efforts to use Belarus, as it did early in the war, as a staging ground for further offensives in Ukraine as well. “Number [of Russian troops in Belarus] it’s insignificant, absolutely tiny,” Ukraine’s top military intelligence official, Kyrylo Budanov, was quoted as saying by Pravda. Budanov said there was no immediate concern that Belarus would invade Ukraine. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast’s biggest scandals and scandals straight to your inbox. Register now. Stay informed and get unlimited access to the Daily Beast’s unparalleled reporting. Register now.
