"Lukashenko Has Been Cornered Like A Rat."

• 23.04.2026, 17:02

The dictator is very afraid.

Dictator Alexander Lukashenko continues to escalate the situation on the border with Ukraine, but the bellicose rhetoric hides panic fear of the Kremlin and attempts to bargain for the lifting of sanctions. This was told in an interview with "Glavred" by former deputy head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Major-General of the SBU Reserve Viktor Yagun.

According to him, one should not expect Lukashenko's activity to decrease. Such rhetoric, in particular statements about alleged threats from different directions, is aimed primarily at the domestic audience and maintaining the image in front of Russia.

"He's already cornered like a rat, and he has to keep up the brand - the whole situation around forces him to do it. And to tell about the fact that he is supposedly going to be attacked from four sides - first of all for the internal audience. Because everyone remembers how he talked about "Kiev in three days" - this has not disappeared. And this rhetoric is needed not only to make his own citizens believe him, but also to maintain his image in front of the Russians: that he controls everything, that everything is ready," explained the expert.

At the same time, according to Yagun, Lukashenko is trying to sit on several chairs at the same time. On the one hand, he is negotiating with the U.S. on possible easing of sanctions, particularly with regard to the potash industry, and on the other hand, he is demonstrating readiness to cooperate with Moscow.

"He (Alexander Lukashenko - ed.) is very afraid that at some point he may be ousted - primarily by Russia. Because the Russians need not just words, but concrete actions. And everyone understands that the Belarusian army is not capable of fighting with Ukraine at this stage," added Yagun.