Kiev ‘Will Lose Ukraine’ If It Doesn’t Accept Moscow’s Terms, Lukashenko Warns

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at the Kremlin in Moscow on Friday, with the two hailing expansion of cooperation on all levels.

“We are practically enjoying active collaboration in all directions,” the Russian president said. “The same applies to security issues and ensuring the safety of the Union State. By the way, here, as we agreed, everything continues in a rhythmic and operational mode. Everything keeps developing naturally,” Putin added.

Lukashenko is joining Putin and other officials at events of the World Atomic Week in Moscow during the two-day visit.

Most importantly, Lukashenko revealed while speaking to the media after discussions with Putin that Russia has presented a new peace proposal to Ukraine, and that Kiev’s response will determine the outcome of the conflict.

According to state media source BelTA, he went so far as to warn the Ukrainians that if they don’t accept its terms, they they will lose all of Ukraine.

“There are good proposals for resolving the Ukrainian conflict,” Lukashenko said of options which are apparently on the table. According to his full comments as translated by BelTA:

“You can say and declare anything. But what if the Kremlin strikes Bankovaya Street [a street in Kiev where Ukrainian government institutions are headquartered]? What would remain of it? Therefore, Vladimir Zelensky needs to calm down. There are good proposals on the table. We discussed them with President Putin. I will not speak about them; the president will speak about them himself.

These are good proposals. Proposals regarding Ukraine, which were also heard by Donald Trump in Alaska, were taken to Washington for consideration and discussion.”

After again calling them “Very good proposals,” he then warned ominously that “If the Ukrainians do not accept these proposals, then the situation will be like the beginning of the Special Military Operation. It will be even worse. They will lose Ukraine.”

As far as what Moscow is offering for negotiated settlement, this without doubt includes Kiev giving up all claims to the four easter territories and to Crimea, as well as to never join NATO, and that it must open up restrictions on the Russian language. Essentially Ukraine will see it as a plan of ‘surrender’.

It was this past summer that Russian forces expanded their operations beyond the Donbass for the first going. The military has at this point captured several villages and settlements Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region, which neighbors Donetsk. Ukraine’s manpower crisis has only grown worse in the meantime.

This signifies that Moscow could expand the fight, and Lukashenko’s latest warning suggests this as well. However, Putin unlikely desires to attempt to occupy the whole of the country, but the threat is being echoed amid the ongoing standoff with NATO.