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 Belarus |  Ukraine |
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Belarus andUkraine both are full members of theBaku Initiative andCentral European Initiative. In 2020, during theBelarusian protests against president Lukashenko, the relationship between Ukraine and Belarus began to deteriorate, after the Ukrainian government criticized Belarusian presidentAlexander Lukashenko. In the waning days of 2021, the relationship between both countries rapidly deteriorated, culminating in a full-scaleinvasion on 24 February 2022. Belarus has allowed the stationing of Russian troops and equipment in its territory and its use as a springboard for offensives into northern Ukraine but has denied the presence of Belarusian troops in Ukraine. Even though part of the Russian invasion was launched from Belarus, Ukraine did not break off diplomatic relations with Belarus (unlike with Russia), but remain frozen. In July 2024, Lukashenko described Ukraine as an enemy.
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Both countries, each historically part ofKievan Rus' (9th to 13th centuries CE), came gradually under the control of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569-1795), and ultimately, of theRussian Empire (1721-1917). TheSecond Polish Republic ruled parts of each in the period from 1918 to 1939. Prior to the1991 breakup, both countries formed part of theSoviet Union (founded in 1922) as theByelorussian SSR (founded in 1920) andUkrainian SSR (founded in 1919); they both became founding members of theUnited Nations in their own right in 1945. As Slavic nations, both Belarus and Ukraine share closely related cultures and are predominantly inhabited by theEast Slavic ethnic groups ofBelarusians andUkrainians respectively.
There was an extensive period of diplomatic cooperation from 1918 to 1921 when theBelarusian Democratic Republic made contacts with theUkrainian People's Republic (UNR) and theUkrainian State of Pavlo Skoropadsky. Skoropadsky's government made the largest overtures to the Belarusians, with him himself informally recognizing the Belarusian DR as de facto independent in October–November 1918, although de jure recognition did not materialize. The UNR, although hesitant in the beginning, ultimately attempted to follow this route in international relations after Skoropadsky's fall. During this period, although without formal recognition, both countries established diplomatic ties in May 1918, exchanged diplomatic missions, the Ukrainians provided financial assistance to the Belarusian government and there were ideas of a federated defensive alliance between Ukraine and Belarus.[1]
Today, the two countries share an891–km border. An agreement on the state border between Belarus and Ukraine signed in 1997 was to be submitted to theBelarusian parliament for ratification after Belarusian PresidentAlexander Lukashenko and formerUkrainian PresidentViktor Yushchenko finished the process of the formalization of the border issues between the two states in early November 2009.[2]
Belarusian businessmanValentin Baiko [be] is the Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Belarus.[3][4]
In August 2020, during theBelarusian protests against Lukashenko, Ukraine recalled itsambassador to Belarus for the first time to assess "the new reality" and prospects of further bilateral relations between the two neighboring countries.[5] Belarus returned detained contractors (whom Lukashenko said were part of theWagner Group) to Russia,[6] coming in defiance of Ukrainian calls to send those who were detained to Ukraine to be prosecuted for their role in theWar in Donbas. In a meeting with member of Ukraine'sVerkhovna RadaYevgeniy Shevchenko in April 2021, Lukashenko criticized former Ukrainian presidentLeonid Kravchuk for suggesting that Minsk be removed as a host in theNormandy Format as a result of the protests.[7]
In response to the forced diversion ofRyanair Flight 4978 by the Belarusian government in May 2021, Ukraine banned Belarusian airlines from operating in Ukrainian airspace.[8] In addition, Ukraine joined the European Union in imposing sanctions on Belarusian officials.[9] In response to Ukraine, Belarus imposed new trade barriers on a variety of Ukrainian goods entering Belarus.[10]
In February 2022, Russian troopsinvaded Ukraine from Belarus.[11] Belarus has also stated that Russian nuclear weapons will be on Belarusian soil.[12] In June 2023, Lukashenko claimed that “the only mistake we made was not finishing off Ukraine with Russia in 2014”.[13] In July 2024, Lukashenko called Ukraine an "enemy" and narrated that the Belarusian troops have a "high combat readiness" nearBelarus–Ukraine border.[14] On 10 August 2024, Belarus' Foreign Ministry called upon Ukraine's charge d'affaires, urging Kyiv to address airspace violations following President Alexander Lukashenko's claim that Belarus had destroyed a dozen Ukrainian drones in its airspace. The ministry warned that if Ukraine failed to prevent such incidents, it would question the "appropriateness" of maintaining Ukraine's diplomatic representation in Minsk.[15]
On 19 October 2025,Ivan Tertel, the head of theBelarusian State Security Committee, claimed that the country was ready to "find a consensus" with Ukraine regarding an end to theRusso-Ukrainian war. This represented a shift as Belarus is attempting to break its diplomatic and economic isolation by playing a mediating role in return for an ease inWestern sanctions.[16]
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