Lukashenko said that Russia was forced to annex Crimea

Russia was forced to include Crimea in its composition, as Ukraine announced plans to join NATO and offered the alliance to place military bases on the territory of Ukraine. This statement was made by the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko during a message to the people and parliament. The speech was broadcast by the BelTA agency.

“Given the extreme security threat, the Russian Federation was forced to take emergency measures by including Crimea in Russia. Notice, remember, without a single shot,” the Belarusian leader said.

Lukashenka recalled that in 2014 Ukraine declared its desire to join NATO and offered the alliance to place military bases in the country. According to him, “this was done carefully under the guise of training centers.” The President of Belarus added that the events in the Donbass were a continuation of the “policy [Киева] destruction of everything Russian.

Crimea became part of Russia in 2014 after a referendum. According to its results, 96.77% of voters in the Republic of Crimea and 95.6% in Sevastopol were in favor of joining Russia. Kyiv continues to insist that Crimea is Ukrainian territory. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the issue of Crimea is “finally closed.”

VTsIOM study conducted in March 2023, showedthat the majority of Russians (86%) are confident in the correctness of the decision to accept Crimea as part of the Russian Federation. 9% of respondents spoke negatively about the annexation of the peninsula.