Posted:
17.12.2025 09:55:59
Lukashenko on Crimea: Ukrainians simply gave it to Russians; no one was fighting for it
Ukraine simply gave Crimea away to Russia in 2014, and no one fought for this land — as stated by President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko in an interview with Newsmax, an American media outlet, BelTA reports
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One of the questions posed by interviewer Greta Conway Van Susteren concerned Crimea, which is where, according to Ukraine, the war began in 2014.
“There was no war in Crimea. Today, Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian authorities say that Crimea is Ukrainian. Crimea is a gem to begin with. No matter who it belongs to, it is a gem, a piece of paradise. They say the war began [there]. A war means two sides fighting head-on with arms in their hands — Ukrainians fired not a single shot in Crimea. And why would Russians need to shoot when they occupied and liberated, as they say, Crimea? There was no need to shoot because no one fought for Crimea. No one was fighting for Crimea. I saw it with my own eyes. Ukraine didn’t fire a single shot,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stated.
In response to the journalist’s remark that Russia annexed Crimea, the President of Belarus noted, “You may use the word ‘annexed’, ‘liberated’, or ‘captured’ — it's a philosophical question, but that’s not the point. If it's your land, why didn't you defend it after all? Ukrainians gave it away. They simply gave it to Russians. I once said that Russians handled it wisely there. They made a deal with those who were supposed to defend Crimea, and thus Crimea was effectively handed over to the ‘little green men’, as you called them at the time.”
One of the questions posed by interviewer Greta Conway Van Susteren concerned Crimea, which is where, according to Ukraine, the war began in 2014.
“There was no war in Crimea. Today, Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian authorities say that Crimea is Ukrainian. Crimea is a gem to begin with. No matter who it belongs to, it is a gem, a piece of paradise. They say the war began [there]. A war means two sides fighting head-on with arms in their hands — Ukrainians fired not a single shot in Crimea. And why would Russians need to shoot when they occupied and liberated, as they say, Crimea? There was no need to shoot because no one fought for Crimea. No one was fighting for Crimea. I saw it with my own eyes. Ukraine didn’t fire a single shot,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stated.
In response to the journalist’s remark that Russia annexed Crimea, the President of Belarus noted, “You may use the word ‘annexed’, ‘liberated’, or ‘captured’ — it's a philosophical question, but that’s not the point. If it's your land, why didn't you defend it after all? Ukrainians gave it away. They simply gave it to Russians. I once said that Russians handled it wisely there. They made a deal with those who were supposed to defend Crimea, and thus Crimea was effectively handed over to the ‘little green men’, as you called them at the time.”
