Putin ally breaks rank as he admits failure in Ukraine and pleads for talks with Kyiv
Lukashekno is a close ally of Putin's
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The Belarusian president has admitted that Russia and Ukraine are locked in a stalemate and urges for negotiations to end the conflict.
Alexander Lukashekno, a close ally of Vladimir Putin’s, said negotiations between the two sides would be the only way to end the war.
“There are enough problems on both sides and in general the situation is now seriously stalemate: no one can do anything and substantively strengthen or advance their position,” Lukashenko said.
“They're there head-to-head, to the death, entrenched. People are dying.”
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He said the war needs to be ended not on the frontline, but at the negotiating table “so nobody dies”.
Lukashenko allowed Belarus to be used as a launch-pad by Putin for an invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Speaking to Belarusian state news agency BelTA, he said: “We need to sit down at the negotiating table and come to an agreement.
“As I once said: no preconditions are needed. The main thing is that the 'stop' command is given.”
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Lukashenko allowed Belarus to be used as a launch-pad by Putin for an invasion of Ukraine in February 2022
ReutersEarlier this month, Ukrainian troops disseminated Russian forces, as Kyiv’s artillery hit multiple columns of Moscow’s personnel carriers.
The attack is believed to have been filmed around Avdiivka in the Donetsk Oblast.
Ukraine claimed Russia lost 127 tanks, 239 APCs and 161 artillery systems.
Western nations are very aware that Putin has launched a “coordinated offensive” in recent days.
Ukraine continues to mount a counter-offensiveReutersThe UK’s Ministry of Defence said: “Russia has highly likely begun a coordinated offensive across multiple axes in the east of Ukraine.
“Russian forces in Donetsk are conducting a combined arms offensive on the heavily defended town of Avdiivka, which has been on the front line since 2014.”
Yet despite Ukraine’s counter-offensive efforts in recent months, Zelensky’s troops have made little advancements across the border.
On Saturday, Zelensky reiterated at a gathering of over 60 national security advisers that his 10-point peace plan, which includes calls for the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity, is the only way to end the war.