Kremlin Says Putin to Meet Lukashenko to Address Ukraine’s Ultimatum on Drone Hardware

Russian leader Vladimir Putin plans to meet with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko to address Ukraine's demand to dismantle drone signal repeaters within one week.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed the upcoming talks following Kyiv's statement that it will take direct military action to remove the equipment if Belarus fails to comply. The repeaters are actively used to coordinate Russian loitering munition strikes against Ukrainian cities, according to Ukrainska Pravda on June 22.

Moscow has condemned the ultimatum, labeling Ukraine's position as an act of hostility aimed at regional stability.

"Indeed, and you know that Alexander Lukashenko spoke about this, in the short term Putin plans to establish contacts. This will be a good opportunity to discuss these and other issues," Peskov stated during a press briefing.

He further claimed that the Kremlin views the warning as "an absolutely aggressive threat, interference in the internal affairs of another country, and an encroachment on the sovereignty of another country."

Despite the rising tension, Peskov noted that Moscow has "no doubt that the leadership of Belarus and Belarus itself are capable of ensuring their sovereignty."

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The response follows a public declaration by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on June 19, stating that the Belarusian leadership has exactly seven days to dismantle the signal relay systems assisting Russian operations, or Ukraine will neutralize them independently.

The ultimatum comes amid intelligence reports indicating ongoing Russian efforts to fully integrate Belarusian infrastructure into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with potential plans to launch hybrid operations targeting neighboring NATO members.

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