“If He Doesn’t Stop, He Will Lose Ukraine”: Lukashenko Issues Stark Warning to Zelensky

MINSK, April 20, 2026 — Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has warned that Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky is once again treading the path of militarisation and Western influence — a course that risks costing him Ukraine itself.

In his interview with RT, reported by state news agency BELTA, Lukashenko said he knows Zelensky relatively well and feels a measure of sympathy for him despite his criticism. “He received Ukraine ready-made,” the president noted. “Yes, he was supposed to change that policy, but he did not. He failed to break the national frenzy, the nationalism that had taken hold of the Ukrainian people. The nationalists gained the upper hand, and he could not cope with them.”

Lukashenko contrasted this with his own experience handling similar challenges early in his presidency: “We had something of the sort, but God helped me deal with it.

”He suggested Zelensky lacked the necessary character and experience to master Ukraine’s deep-seated problems. Had a sensible leader focused on the well-being of the Ukrainian people come to power, the nation would have followed him, Lukashenko believes.

“But he did not become that leader — neither then nor now,” the Belarusian president said. “He must understand that he is paying far too high a price for what has happened, for that policy, for the war that is raging today. He must realise that if he does not stop, he will lose Ukraine. He needs to weigh things carefully and draw the right conclusions. Once again he has taken the path of militarisation, once again he is following the West, which supposedly will give him money and weapons.

”Lukashenko expressed deep sorrow for the Ukrainian people, noting that his own ancestors came from Ukraine. “They elected Zelensky president. They knew he was an inexperienced man? They did. They knew his shortcomings? Perhaps not fully. Why did they vote for him? They elected Zelensky president in reality.

”He recalled that in his own early years he too was somewhat “green.” “But I had solid ground under my feet and real life experience. He had show business. And the Ukrainians knew that. Yet they elected him. True, there was little choice. But they elected him, and now they are paying for it — and paying very dearly.”

Lukashenko added that he has no right to reproach the Ukrainian people, but they too bear responsibility: “They democratically elected this president. Well, they have to answer for that choice.

”He also pointed to the role of wealth and corruption in Ukraine’s power struggles. “In the end it came down to Zelensky and Poroshenko. They are all tied to big money. I suspect — and we know — that not all of that money was earned honestly. These rich people are connected to the West, and the West has levers to control them,” he concluded.