We calculated how much deputy Savinykh exaggerated the population of the countries whose leaders congratulated Lukashenko on his election victory

On February 9, in the program "Week" on CTV, diplomat and Belarusian parliamentary deputy Andrei Savinykh discussed who congratulated Alexander Lukashenko on his victory in the 2025 presidential election.

"Leaders from countries representing at least about 80% of the world's population have already extended their congratulations. The countries offering their congratulations are primarily those that pursue an independent foreign policy, advocate for strengthening a multipolar world, and share our fundamental values," noted Savinykh. A list of countries whose leaders congratulated Lukashenko was shown on screen.

As of February 16, 2025, the Weekly Top Fake team confirmed congratulatory messages from representatives of 39 world countries per reports in Pul Pervogo Telegram channel. Total population of those 39 countries adds up to about 3 billion people. With over 8 billion people on Earth, this amounts to 37% of the world's population, not 80%.

Among European leaders, only two congratulated Alexander Lukashenko: Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and the Serb member and Chair of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Željka Cvijanović. At the time of the congratulation and publication, she was serving as the chairperson, a position that members of the Presidency rotate every eight months.