Belarusian President warns 'will cut off fuel' if Ukraine attacks Donbass: Report

Amid escalating tensions between Ukraine and Russia, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko warned Kyiv of repercussions if it starts a war against Donbass, Sputnik reported. According to the Russian news agency, Lukashenko's warning came during the "Soloviev Live" show on Sunday.

When asked whether his government was in talks with the Russian government, he replied positively and said that his country would "coordinate a joint response with Moscow if Kyiv started a war against Donbass." Notably, Donbas is a historical, cultural, and economic region in south-eastern Ukraine. Some of its regions are disputed and occupied by two unrecognised separatist states.

Further, during the conversation, the Belarusian President went on to say that he was planning to stop the export of fuel and electricity to Ukraine if Kyiv's behaviour led to a war with Russia. "We will cut off all fuel and lubricant supplies to Ukraine...as well as electricity. We will not supply it if they start a war against us or Russia," Sputnik quoted Lukashenko as saying. He warned that the two countries (Russia and Belarus) drew red lines and "if Ukraine tries to cross, it would face severe percussions".

Lukashenko warned his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to face possible rocket strikes and blamed the Western countries including the United States for escalating Kyiv towards war.

"This is just the essence of the war, about which you and we are having debates now: 'Ukraine will fight'. Well, it is not Ukraine, it is Americans who are pushing it (Ukraine) to war," Sputnik quoted Lukashenko as saying on Russian YouTube show 'Soloviev Live'. 

'Better not to touch us', says Belarusian President

"Do they not see it? Therefore, they understand that it is futile to fight with us, especially with Russia. We are not talking about some kind of nuclear and other weapons. But it is better not to touch us," Lukashenko asserted. It is worth mentioning the tension between Ukraine, Russia and the US soared tremendously following US intelligence reports claiming over one lakh Russian troops are pressed near the Ukraine border by President Vladimir Putin. As per the report, the Russian forces have reportedly made all preparations to "invade Ukraine". However, Putin refuted the intelligence reports and called the allegations "baseless".

(Image: AP)