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Ukraine's first president Leonid Kravchuk, who was among the signatories of the agreement on the disintegration of the Soviet Union, believes that, from the international law perspective, Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus "is nobody."

"We don't accept what's happening in Belarus. We have joined European countries in all assessments as regards Belarus, and I wouldn't express anything in particular in relation to Lukashenko. I'll tell you why – too much honor for Lukashenko if we pay such attention to him. He is a self-proclaimed president. From the perspective of international law, he is nobody, excuse my language, while acting as leader and imposing some sort of conditions, assessing everyone," Kravchuk, who now heads Ukraine's delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group on Donbas settlement, told Ukraine 24 TV.

According to Kravchuk, both president and the foreign ministry have made their say on Lukashenko, and this is Ukraine's final position.

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"For some reason, it seems to me that, if Russia doesn't take him under its wing for however long, Lukashenko won't last long – in the sense of his rule in Belarus," Kravchuk believes.

Read alsoRada calls for Protasevich's release, condemns Lukashenko's regimeSanctions on Lukashenko regime

  • On May 28, Deputy Foreign Minister Yevhen Yenin said the Foreign Ministry had drafted sanctions proposals for the NSDC targeting Alexander Lukashenko's regime officials.
  • "Since the onset of protests in Belarus, the Ukrainian government has become solidary with the position of its international partners, and above all, the European Union, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has prepared an appropriate sanctions package, which has been submitted for consideration to the National Security Council. We hope that in the near future, perhaps, this package will be considered, and the relevant decisions will be followed by a presidential decree," Yenin said.
  • At the same time, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Oleksiy Danilov, said the NSDC had not received proposals for imposing sanctions on Belarusian officials, which he says must first be approved by government before being tabled in the NSDC.