Why did Putin’s closest ally defend Zelensky?

Disinformation and propaganda are an essential part of any war. Russian President Vladimir Putin is no stranger to this game. So when Belarusian President Alexander, Putin's longtime ally defended Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in October 2023,  many were surprised but also sceptical. 

A video clip of Lukashenko speaking about Zelensky began making its rounds on social media on October 7th, 2023. It was eventually posted to Twitter by Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor to Ukraine’s former Minister of Internal Affairs. 

"We, and Russians, and journalists say that Zelenskyy is this and that, a beggar, acting disrespectfully and dishonestly.” Lukashenko said, “And I have to say that Zelenskyy is acting absolutely appropriately." But what did he mean?

The original clip was quite short and only showed the short sentence praising Zelensky and his actions. A longer video was later posted to social media and it revealed more of the Belarusian leader's thoughts on Russia’s invasion. 

Newsweek reported that Lukashenko suggested Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may have been planned as early as 2014, which was the same year that Moscow annexed Crimea and began helping rebels in Ukraine’s eastern oblasts. 

Lukashenko explained that Ukraine had been preparing the Bakhmut region for defense against a Russian invasion, creating a layered defense in that region as well as in other parts of the Donbas region, all at the behest of America. 

The Belarusian President accused the United States of offering to fund Ukraine’s war if the Ukrainians fought to the last man. They would receive money and weapons, as well as anything else they needed to fight against the Russians. 

Lukashenko went on to accuse the U.S. and the West of not holding up their end of the deal they made with Zelensky, saying they were only sending older equipment and not giving the Ukrainian president anything at all in some cases. 

“He is fighting to the last Ukrainian. Meanwhile, they either don't do what they promised on time or don't give what they promise,” Lukashenko said according to a translation by the state-owned BelarusianTelegraph Agency (BelTA).

“The West (Europeans in particular) do not honor commitments. This is why Volodymyr [Zelensky] tells them: ‘Why aren't you doing what you've promised?' He goes and makes demands of them. Is he doing the right thing? He is,” Lukashenko added.

It is important to note that Lukashenko’s comments were more an attempt to discredit the West and Zelensky than they were about praising the Ukrainian leader for how he was conducting the war against Russia’s invasion. 

"My interpretation of that whole press conference by Lukashenko is that he's in certain ways parroting a line from Moscow,” wrote Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis of Defense Priorities in an email to Newsweek on Lukashenko's comments. 

“Basically, that Ukraine and the West always had a secret deal for him to fight and not to make peace, and there was a secret pact made with us to give them everything they needed, and Zelensky would use all his manpower for war," Lt. Col. Davis continued. 

Davis explained that Lukashenko was not praising Zelensky for his opposition to Russia but rather that the Ukrainian President was doing the right thing in the sense that he was performing the role given to him by the United States and the West. 

“I think he's trying to make Zelensky look bad, make America look bad, and the West look bad by implying that we desired conflict all along and now Zelensky is mad because he feels like the West left him hanging out to dry,” Lt. Col. Davis added. 

“In my view, this is just another version of the disinformation campaign that Russia and Belarus routinely pedal,” the lieutenant colonel continued. But we did still learn valuable info from the press conference, particularly that Russia had a plan to invade since 2014.