Lukashenko Warns Ukraine Not to 'Wake the Sleeping Bear' as Russia Amplifies Message

His interview feeds a coordinated narrative that revives claims on Crimea plus energy pricing, casting Western policy as the source of confrontation.

Overview

In a Newsmax TV interview, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko told Kyiv not to provoke Russia and to seek normal relations with Moscow.
Lukashenko criticized Ukraine’s language policy, alleging authorities moved to silence Russian-speaking citizens rather than make gradual changes.
He claimed he witnessed talks in which Russia and Ukraine reached understandings on Crimea and security, saying military facilities on the peninsula were agreed to be Russian.
He asserted that Russia sold energy to Ukraine at roughly half the world price during the Yeltsin and Putin periods and linked the conflict’s escalation to the Maidan, which he said involved outside help from the United States and Europe.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova echoed and expanded his remarks, questioning why Ukraine is “sleeping next to the bear,” blaming Western governments for choosing confrontation, and citing Putin’s 2007 Munich speech.