As Ukraine continues its long-range strike campaign into Russia, its president warned on Friday that his forces may also begin targeting Belarus. Speaking during a joint news conference with Honduran President Nasry Asfura, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to remove Russian drone-support equipment from his territory or face Ukrainian strikes that eliminate them instead.
What Zelenskyy Said on the Ukraine War and Belarus
Putin in June of 2026 Image Credit Russian Federation
In his comments, the Ukrainian president accused Belarus of hosting repeaters – relay nodes that are used to boost video signals between drone pilots and the UAVs themselves – on its territory that assist with Russian drone strikes on Ukrainian territory. Zelenskyy also explicitly accused Minsk of enabling attacks on Ukrainian civilians.
“We don’t currently have such a strong front where Ukraine and Belarus meet. They are killing civilians there,” Zelenskyy said.
“There are transmitters on the relevant towers. Can he remove this? What are the words for, that he doesn’t want to be in the war?” Zelenskyy said, citing prior statements by the Belarusian president that Belarus is not directly involved in the conflict.
“Let him remove the equipment, let him turn off this equipment,” he continued, according to translations published on X. “I think a week will be enough for him to do this. Because, why do I say a week? Because right now every day, because of this, our civilians are dying, children are wounded. If he doesn’t do this, we will.”
Trump Changes His Tune
During the same press conference, Zelenskyy also indicated that he believes future peace talks with Russia will resume, but likely in a different format, potentially involving the European Union alongside the United States.
President Donald Trump hosts a bilateral meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Monday, December 29, 2025, at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)
The comments come as President Donald Trump leans back into the European position on Ukraine during the recent G7 summit in Evian, France.
Trump also signaled that he may be prepared to reimpose sanctions on Russian oil as G7 members signal their support of Ukraine as it gains momentum against Russia.
Ukraine Is Going Hard On Russia
A recent report from POLITICO offered a look inside Ukraine’s new campaign against Russia.
The outlet described how a reporting team was granted permission to observe a night of mission preparations earlier in June under strict conditions.
During that time, intelligence officials described how Ukrainian attacks rely on a combination of long-range kamikaze drones and decoy drones designed to confuse air defenses and waste Russian interceptors.
The Ukrainian officials also confirmed to reporters that they are deliberately targeting Russian oil facilities and missile installations, both of which are critical for sustaining the war effort against Ukraine.
“At the beginning, Russians believed they were conducting a special military operation. Now they understand that this is a war,” a commander said.
When asked for a message to Russia, the commander said, “This war has now reached your homes as well,” and that “We hope that message helps Russia bring this war to an end.”
Putin and Peskov Admit Ukraine Is Doing Damage
In recent weeks, Kremlin officials have been forced to admit that Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory are beginning to cause problems for the Russian economy. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov first indicated that all was not well in occupied Crimea, saying earlier this month that the strikes had caused “certain problems.”
“There are indeed certain problems at the moment. Measures are being taken,” Peskov said.
The comments came amid reports that Crimea’s fuel rationing system was being tightened further, with no new coupons being issued and existing coupons being restricted. In a statement issued on May 31, Kremlin-installed leader of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, announced restrictions on gas sales.
“Starting today, for several days, the sale of gasoline for cash will be completely suspended,” the statement explained, adding that transactions with existing coupons would be limited to 20 liters.
On Friday, June 12, Russian President Vladimir Putin also admitted Ukraine was causing problems for the Russian economy more generally. The Russian leader acknowledged the recent uptick in Ukrainian strikes and admitted that strikes on its energy infrastructure were putting pressure on the country.
“As for the economy: they are certainly causing us damage, but we are recovering quickly,” Putin told the TASS news agency. Putin also claimed that the Ukrainian strikes are intended to “sow confusion” in Russian society.
Ukraine’s Strikes On Russia Keep Getting Bigger
Ukraine’s campaign against Russia is only just beginning. Now manufacturing its own long-range FP-5 Flamingo missiles and a number of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Ukraine is now causing major damage to refineries, and on June 18, drones struck the Gazprom Neft-owned Moscow refinery in the Kapotnya district. The strikes caused explosions only miles from the Kremlin, shutting down a refinery that processed roughly 11.6 million tons of crude oil in 2024.
Combined with growing pressure on missile sites and logistics hubs, Ukrainian strikes are starting to turn the tide of this war – the question now is how Putin responds.
About the Author: Jack Buckby
Jack Buckby is a British researcher and analyst specializing in defense and national security, based in New York. His work focuses on military capability, procurement, and strategic competition, producing and editing analysis for policy and defense audiences. He brings extensive editorial experience, with a career output spanning over 1,000 articles at 19FortyFive and National Security Journal, and has previously authored books and papers on extremism and deradicalization.
