Commenting on the further relations between Kiev and Minsk, the Ukrainian ambassador said that this would depend on the development of the situation in Belarus and the integration of the republic with Russia within the framework of the Union State.
On August 17, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry for the first time in the history of bilateral relations with Belarus summoned the ambassador to Minsk for consultations.
The Ukrainian side noted that the transfer by the Belarusian authorities of the previously detained 32 Russian citizens to Moscow “undermined confidence” between Ukraine and Belarus and dealt “a heavy blow to bilateral relations”.
The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine also sent a request to Belarus for the extradition of 28 of the 33 Russian citizens detained near Minsk.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the decision of Belarus to hand over the detainees to Russia unjust and unacceptable.