Ukraine war

Lukashenko pleads for a draw

From the left: Russia's ruler Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko

(Bild: AFP/Mikhail METZEL)

Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko has called for a draw in the war in Ukraine. "Ukraine will not win on the battlefield. The Ukrainians and the West realize that. So we have to move, come to an agreement," he said.

"If it is to be immediate, it could be a draw. Let me say that in sports language," he was quoted as saying by the Belarusian state news agency Belta. However, the politician did not explain how this would be achieved. There had been Russian-Ukrainian talks shortly before the start of the war in 2022 and the Ukrainian government had agreed to neutral status.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who was in Minsk, takes a different view. A draw would not safeguard the interests of all parties involved. Ukraine would have to give up four territories and NATO membership as well as undergo so-called denazification, he repeated well-known demands. The Kremlin understands this to mean the establishment of a government in Kiev that is loyal to Russia.

Troops advance in the east
The Russian authorities have so far declared the Crimean peninsula and four areas in south-eastern Ukraine to be their property. Russian troops are currently advancing in the east of the country. On Thursday, the Ministry of Defense announced that it had captured another village. Less than 500 people lived there before the war began.

For Russia's ruler Vladimir Putin, the Donbass region is a "priority". The next important target is the industrial city of Pokrovsk. Around 12,000 people are still holding out there, although around 80 percent of the infrastructure has already been destroyed. The city has been under fire for a long time. Some streets have been sealed off in order to build defenses.