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Ukraine Steps Closer to Criminal Prosecution of Belarusian Leader Lukashenko
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Ukraine’s Office of the Prosecutor General registered an official request received from the Office of the President of Ukraine regarding the potential opening of a criminal case against Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.
Officials at the Prosecutor General's press service confirmed that the document is under active review. They noted that no formal criminal proceedings have been opened on the basis of this request as of July 30, as reported by Ukrinform.
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The submission stems from a July 28 announcement by the Forum of Democratic Forces of Belarus. The opposition coalition stated that the Office of the President of Ukraine forwarded their request for Lukashenko’s prosecution to prosecutors.
The group published a document signed by Oleg Tatarov, Deputy Head of the Office of the President, which instructs prosecutors to review the submission within their authority and take appropriate legal action if grounds are met. While the letter does not mention Lukashenko by name, it directs law enforcement to assess the matters raised.
The initiative asks Ukrainian authorities to evaluate the actions of the de facto leader of Belarus regarding his role in supporting Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Specifically, the request emphasizes the use of Belarusian territory to facilitate the initial entry of Russian forces into Ukraine.
The authors of the appeal asked Ukrainian law enforcement to open a case under multiple sections of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. These include charges of waging an aggressive war, committing war crimes, financing terrorism, threatening the territorial integrity of Ukraine, conducting war propaganda, and committing genocide.
Reuters reported that Alexander Lukashenko is unlikely to face a trial inside Ukraine directly.
However, Reuters noted that Ukrainian authorities and Belarusian opposition leaders can leverage these legal steps to increase pressure on the Belarusian regime through international partners.
Belarusian opposition leader Pavel Latushko noted that following the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Lukashenko realized that relying on Russia was a mistake. Latushko added that the Belarusian leader now understands Ukraine has the capacity to strike targets operating on behalf of Moscow.
Previously, Lukashenko insisted that Minsk held a "peaceful" position toward Ukraine, even as he warned that the character of the war would change instantly should Kyiv try to draw Belarus into the fighting. He recounted a recent meeting in Minsk with representatives of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, claiming he had asked them to relay a warning to Kyiv.
Lukashenko stated that if Kyiv thought they could talk to Belarus that way and drag them into war, then the quality of the war would instantly change and become completely different.
Despite the threat, he framed his overall stance as conciliatory, declaring that their position was peaceful and urging Kyiv toward talks to negotiate substantially for peace, but only with guarantees that Ukraine would not play games with Minsk.
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