The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has issued an ultimatum this Friday to his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, giving him one week to remove the repeater towers used to "direct" Russian attacks against Ukrainian territory from the border zone. "If he doesn't do it, we will," he warned.
"Let him dismantle this equipment, let him turn it off. I think a week will be enough for him to do it (...) Right now, civilians are dying daily because of this, there are injured children," Zelensky denounced during a joint press conference with his Honduran counterpart, Nasry Asfura, held in Kyiv and cited by the Ukrinform agency.
The Ukrainian leader detailed that Belarus has installed these repeater towers in two regions bordering Ukraine, from where they support the attacks launched by Russia. "Why do they say they don't want to be in this war?" he questioned, referring to messages from Minsk insisting they are not directly participating in the conflict.
"Russia will continue to pressure him to enter this war. Now he understands that Ukraine will respond. There is no need for unnecessary words," Zelensky stated about Lukashenko, assuring that he no longer believes his justifications and recalling the explanations he received at the beginning of the invasion, when Ukraine was attacked from Belarusian territory.
In recent weeks, the already complicated relationship between Kyiv and Minsk has deteriorated further, with an increase in tone and exchange of threats. Ukraine accuses Belarus of fully aligning with the Kremlin's demands and becoming increasingly and more directly involved in the war, something Lukashenko continues to deny.