Lukashenko Fears Russia Will Assassinate Him, But Killing President Is 'Catastrophic For Putin': Report

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, fears he will be assassinated by Moscow following the death of a Belarusian foreign minister, according to a report.

Lukashenko's fear has allegedly led him to replace his cooks, guards and servants to protect himself, UK tabloid The Sun reported, citing Russian businessman and exiled Putin critic Leonid Nevzlin.

In addition to replacing his cooks and servants, Nevzlin claimed that Lukashenko has also assigned extra security to his children.

Lukashenko's fear of being assassinated by Russia was triggered after Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei died suddenly on Nov. 26 at the age of 64. Belarus' Foreign Ministry did not provide any details as to what might have been Makei's cause of death.

Some media and observers, including Nevzlin, alleged that Makei was poisoned by Russia's security agencies after he was discovered to be covertly in contact with the West about the war in Ukraine.

"The death of Makei, essentially the second [most important] man in the state, has caused panic in Belarusian circles," Nevzlin said, citing sources "close to the Russian special services."

Nevzlin said his poisoning theory is "supported by the fact that the 64-year-old official had no health problems, was leading an active lifestyle and was making plans."

"When he suddenly got a heart condition, he did not go to doctors as he had not experienced such problems before and did not give any importance to the pain," Nevzlin added in a statement, as per The Daily Mail.

Some political experts, including George Byczynski, the Chief Adviser to the U.K. Parliament's All-Party Parliamentary Group on Poland, also supported Nevzlin's poison theory. Byczynski also said Makei's poisoning may have been Putin's way of sending a warning to Lukashenko.

"We can only speculate, but it's becoming increasingly obvious that even the most loyal and dependent partners of Putin see that he's losing and may want to switch sides. Just like Stalin eliminated everyone who didn't fully obey him, Putin is likely to send signals to Lukashenko – neutrality means death," Byczynski told The Kyiv Post.

However, Byczynski also argued that assassinating Lukashenko would not benefit Putin, adding that it would only destroy the relationship between Russia and Belarus.

"The implications of Putin killing Lukashenko could be catastrophic for Putin. He would have it very difficult to install a new puppet regime, all the Belarussians would turn against them," he added.