Ukraine is considering launching criminal proceedings against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko over alleged war crimes and genocide, following a request from President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office to the country’s Prosecutor General.
According to a letter made public on Tuesday, Zelensky’s office asked prosecutors to examine whether there are legal grounds to open a criminal case against Lukashenko.
A close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Lukashenko allowed Belarusian territory to be used by Russian forces as a staging ground for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Reuters reported.
The move follows a request submitted in May by the Belarusian Democratic Forum, an opposition group operating in exile, which urged the Ukrainian government to prosecute Lukashenko for alleged war crimes, genocide, and what it described as “state terrorism.”
The organization accuses the Belarusian leader of complicity in Russia’s war against Ukraine and of facilitating the forced transfer of at least 2,442 Ukrainian children to Belarus through a program documented by the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab.
Lukashenko’s administration did not respond to requests for comment. In 2023, the Belarusian president said the children had been temporarily hosted in Belarus to help them recover from the trauma of war.
In the published letter, senior presidential official Oleh Tatarov informed the Belarusian Democratic Forum that the request had been forwarded to the Prosecutor General’s Office to “take appropriate measures” if sufficient legal grounds exist.
Neither Ukraine’s Presidential Office nor the Prosecutor General’s Office has issued further public comment on the matter.
While Lukashenko is unlikely to appear before a Ukrainian court in the near future, any formal indictment could strengthen Kyiv’s efforts, alongside the Belarusian opposition, to encourage Western governments to maintain pressure on his administration.
The development comes as Lukashenko is reportedly engaged in talks with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration over the possible easing of certain U.S. sanctions in exchange for the release of political prisoners.
