Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko told in an interview with Ukrainian journalist Diana Panchenko how military events around Kiev were actually developing at the beginning of the Russian special military operation in early 2022, BELTA reports.
"The issue was really a matter of days. If the Russians had occupied Kiev, can you imagine what kind of war it would have been? The war would have already ended," said Alexander Lukashenko.
The journalist pointed out that in Ukraine it is commonly believed that Zelensky defended Kiev and that the Ukrainian army repelled the invasion of Russian troops.
"Look, this a fairy tale and nothing more than that. But all this was probably created by the media and Zelensky himself to show his heroism," the Belarusian head of state reacted. - "I, again, found myself between Putin and some forces in Kiev, which have already agreed to, to surrender in order to survive. And I had a conversation with Putin in this regard. And Putin said to me: "You know, you can take Kiev - immediately, instantly, or a huge number of people will die".
Alexander Lukashenko said that the Ukrainian troops brought not only tanks, but also multiple rocket launchers to the streets. At the same time they were hiding behind kindergartens, schools, hospitals and other social facilities.
How, Putin says, can we fight in a militarily way with them. Here, he says, we are conducting a point operation. We are on the outskirts of Kiev, we can't beat them indiscriminately like they do. That is, he was worried that they would have to fight there so that nothing would remain in place of the school," shared details of the Belarusian leader.
He noted that the Ukrainian side acted exactly the same way in Artemovsk (Bakhmut), which is confirmed by the fighters of PMC "Wagner."
"And here I had a conversation with Putin. He says: "Well, how will you hit them in Kiev if they are hidden there behind schools and kindergartens?" Another person would have said to him: "Listen, there's a war going on. "If you started a war, fight it. And he was telling the truth when he said: "We haven't even started yet," said the President of Belarus.
"I won't talk about the reasons. You probably know, the Russian troops, which were on the outskirts of Kiev, left there. Putin then withdrew those troops. How did Zelensky defend? Did he defeat the Russian army there? No. That's why he ascribes this feat to himself for nothing, which was not there. Putin withdrew those troops from Kiev," emphasized Alexander Lukashenko. - He was sitting in the cellar at the time. Your Zelensky was sitting in the cellar at that time. And the military saw how it would end.
