President of Belarus Alexander LukashenkoMINSK, Apr 1Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that the peoples of Belarus and Russia have responded and will respond to challenges together. «What is no less important, our successes, first of all yours, show that the peoples of Belarus and Russia are united in their goals, strong in fraternal ties and true to a common historical memory. But we also have common challenges that time puts before us today. We have responded and will respond to them together,» Lukashenka said at the 2021 Union State Science and Technology Prize ceremony. His words on Friday are quoted by the press service.Kiselev called the alliance between Russia and Belarus especially valuable «I am absolutely convinced that we will overcome the situation, which is being escalated by leaders losing global superiority and hostile to our Slavic unity, who imagine themselves to be world elites. We will overcome this situation. Difficulties will become an additional incentive for development. And not only science, but also all spheres of activity of our states,» the Belarusian president emphasized. Western countries have imposed tough sanctions against the Russian Federation due to a special operation to demilitarize Ukraine. Many foreign companies have suspended their work in the Russian Federation. Restrictive measures also affected Belarus, which the West accused of supporting the Russian military special operation in Ukraine. Will economic allies turn away from Moscow Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24th. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops and , on March 25, completed the main tasks of the first stage — significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The main goal in the Russian military department was called the liberation of Donbass. Will Belarus withstand Western pressure?
