Putin has considered scenarios of Lukashenko's elimination several times – Piontkovsky

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

"Nothing happened to Lukashenko on May 9, apparently, he had already arrived very sick, we saw that his arm was bandaged. Putin considered several times the scenario of Lukashenko's elimination, which was close to this during the previous elections. Let me remind you that there was a story about paratroopers who were sent to Minsk because Lukashenko had been furiously resisting the complete absorption of Belarus by Russia during the last 23 years of Putin's rule. But I don't think that Moscow is interested in the physical destruction of Lukashenko now, it would create big problems in these circumstances of defeat that Russia is suffering in Ukraine," the political scientist said.

Andrey Piontkovsky noted that the Kremlin's position is weakening throughout the post-Soviet space.

"The fact is that the Belarusian security forces supported Lukashenko because they did not want to become small members of the Russian Interior Ministry, and they also hold on to the formal independence of Belarus. And Lukashenko's death would be an additional political and military disaster. Therefore, despite all Christian traditions, we wish this war criminal to die happily in the coming days," Piontkovsky said.

• After the parade in Moscow on May 9, self-proclaimed President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko disappeared from public space. According to media reports, he felt unwell.

• On May 14, the State Duma confirmed that Alexander Lukashenko was ill.

• On May 15, Lukashenko made his first public appearance in six days.

• On May 18, Ukrainian intelligence confirms that self-proclaimed President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko is indeed ill: at the same time, Russian leader Vladimir Putin has no plans for his death.