It appears that Aleksandr Lukashenko, the presumptive president of Belarus, is feeling the heat these days . . . thanks to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Zelensky, who has had his hands full defending his country against Russia’s continuing onslaught, nevertheless found time to issue an ultimatum to Lukashenko on June 19th. In a nutshell, he gave the Belarusian autocrat one week in which to remove communications equipment located on the territory of his country that is being used by Russia to guide drone strikes against Ukrainian civilians. And Zelensky warned:

“If he [Lukashenko] doesn’t do it, we will.”

[Roman Sheremeta, “The Economics of Power,” power.substack.com, June 20, 2026.]

Zelensky has shown the world that he does not make empty threats, and this action against Belarus has been long overdue. Russia has deployed relay stations across Belarus, mounted on mobile communications towers, to improve the guidance and control of Shahed drones used to attack northern Ukraine and the capital city of Kyiv. Although Ukraine destroyed several of those stations, they have been rebuilt. [Id.]

Lukashenko — who has consistently (and disingenuously) maintained that he does not want his country involved in the war — now faces a choice between turning against his friend and patron Vladimir Putin, or facing the destruction of those Russian relay stations by Ukraine, along with the possibility of collateral damage that always accompanies military actions.

I would not want to be in Lukashenko’s position. But it’s a problem of his own making.

Someone should have taught him long ago to choose his friends more carefully.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
6/21/26