Belarus responds to claims its troops invaded Ukraine

President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus has denied claims that his nation is taking part in a Russian attack on Ukraine, Belarusian state media reported on Thursday. Ukrainian border guards had made the accusation against Minsk earlier in the day.

The Ukrainian statement asserted that some of the Russian troops entering Ukraine came from the territory of neighboring Belarus, adding that they “were supported” by Minsk. Lukashenko branded the people behind Kiev’s statement “exceptional scum.”

“Our troops are not taking any part in this operation,” the Belarusian president said.

Belarus is a close military ally of Russia. The two nations held joint exercises on Belarus territory earlier this month.

Russia launched a massive, so-called, military ‘special operation’ against Ukraine on Thursday morning. President Vladimir Putin justified ordering it by claiming that it was necessary to prevent more serious bloodshed from occurring there. 

After the 2014 Maidan in Kiev, Ukraine turned into an “anti-Russia” state that Western nations, led by the US, want to use to hurt Moscow, Putin stated. The military action is meant to demilitarize and “de-Nazify” the country, the Russian leader claimed.