Belarus Review by iSANS — December 09, 2024 

Belarus Review (2024 edition, issue 46)

A weekly update on the ongoing political crisis in the Republic of Belarus was prepared for you by the International Strategic Action Network for Security (iSANS). 

Russian drones from Ukraine and Russia continued to fly into the airspace of Belarus. During the week, at least 88 drones of the Shahed type flew into the airspace of Belarus. Thus, on December 2, 24 drones flew in. December 3 – 21 drones; December 4 – 15 drones; December 5 – 17 drones;  December 6 – 10 drones; December 8 – one drone. Subsequently, most of them flew to Ukraine. The destruction of drones by units of the Armed Forces of Belarus was not reported.

On December 2, a delegation from Russia’s Almaz-Antey Air and Space Defense Concern visited the 2566^th Radio-Electronic Weapons Repair Plant in Barysau. During the visit, the parties signed a contract for the training of specialists in the program “Maintenance and repair of the 98Zh6 [note: S-400 Triumf] anti-aircraft missile system”.  The training will allow Belarusian specialists to perform maintenance and repair of “key components” of the S-400 complex. Officials of the Belarusian Defense Ministry repeatedly stated that Russia had transferred two divisions of S-400 air defense systems to Belarus.

On December 5, it was reported that the 1371^st Engineer Base hosted the transfer of engineering equipment modernized at the Russian military-industrial complex enterprises. Among the transferred equipment were modernized floating transporters PTS-2, engineering demolition vehicles IMR-2, as well as bridge-layers.

On December 6, during a meeting of the Supreme State Council of the “Union State,” Lukashenka asked Putin to deploy the “Oreshnik” missile system in Belarus: “With one condition – that the targets for these weapons will be determined by the military-political leadership of Belarus.” Putin responded to the request by saying that the “Oreshnik” could be deployed in Belarus in the second half of 2025, “as serial production increases.” On December 7, Siarhei Lahadziuk, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Belarus, stated that the Belarusian military-industrial complex “together with Russian specialists … will further develop [the “Oreshnik” complex]. Active participation in these processes is conditioned by the fact that already now the level of localization in this complex of [Belarusian] enterprises is very high.”

On December 7, BELPOL reported that a Russian military facility will be built in 2025 on the territory of the 1405^th Artillery Ammunition Base (military unit 42707, Bolshaya Gorozha, Osipovichi district). The facility will include “structures for accommodation of personnel and vehicles.” The reason for the construction of the facility is not yet known. The connection of the construction with the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus “has not yet been confirmed, the information is being verified.”

About 15 thousand people were called up for military training in 2024. This was stated by the Head of the Main Organizational and Mobilization Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Belarus, Alexander Shalpuk, on November 20. According to calculations of the monitoring group of the Belarusian Hajun, from January to October 2024, ca. 12,382 people were called up for various types of military training in the Armed Forces of Belarus, Internal Troops, and Border Guards. In general, the number of military training camps has increased over the last two years.

On December 3, it was reported that according to the Eurostat, Belarusians were issued 3.7 times more initial residence permits in European countries in 2023 than 10 years ago. According to statistics, Belarusians ranked second among residents of third countries in this category, with the number of initial residence permits issued to Belarusians in the EU countries in 2023 amounting to 281,279.00. Ukrainians ranked first with 307,313.00 residence permits. The Lithuanian Ministry of Interior reported its statistics and noted a significant drop in the numbers of Ukrainians, Russians, and Belarusians holding residence permits in Lithuania in 2024. According to the data, the number of residence permits dropped by 20,000 since the start of 2024. The largest decrease was registered among Ukrainians, whose numbers fell from 86,353 to 68,166 over the year. The number of Belarusians fell from 62,167 to 59,399, and that of Russians went down by a few hundred to 15,105. Some 577 Belarusians were banned from entering the country. This is reportedly a result of Amendments to the Law on the Legal Status of Foreigners, effective since July 1, that has tightened the requirements for employers inviting foreign nationals to work in Lithuania and the conditions for employing them. Only foreigners with temporary residence permits in Lithuania are now allowed to work.

On December 4, Lithuanian media outlet LRT reported that according to the Minister of Transport and Communications, the Republic of Lithuania disagrees with all the claims made by Belaruskali in its lawsuit to the arbitration court and will submit its arguments of disagreement to the arbitration court within the deadlines set. Lithuania claims that arbitration is a normal process, and Lithuania is a legal state that operates according to the rule of law and complies with all its international obligations. The major Belarusian potash fertilizer production company claims in the arbitration court that Lithuania breached its international obligation to Belarus as a landbound country to provide access to the port of Klaipeda for the transportation of potash fertilizers. The Belarusian fertilizer giant claims that the contract was terminated illegally and possibly in violation of the bilateral agreement on investment promotion and protection, signed between Lithuania and Belarus in 1999, and demands compensation for damages. The demanded compensation reaches a significant amount of several billion euros.

On December 4, the US Department of State hosted the Second Strategic Dialogue with the democratic forces of Belarus. This time, the Dialogue took place in Vilnius, Lithuania. Co-chaired by U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Christopher W. Smith and the Belarusian democratic leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the Strategic Dialogue convened representatives of multiple U.S. government agencies with a broad cross-section of Belarusian democratic actors and civil society representatives. During the Strategic Dialogue, the participants discussed the Lukashenka regime’s appalling human rights crackdown against Belarusians.  The United States reiterated its call for the unconditional release of the estimated 1,300 political prisoners being held throughout Belarus for exercising their freedom of expression or assembly and declared that it would promote accountability for the regime’s human rights abuses. The United States emphasized its programming to promote and protect Belarusians’ unique national and cultural identity, including their language, literature, arts, and history. A key topic of the discussion was the so-called Belarusian “elections” scheduled for January 26, 2025.  Both sides observed that Lukashenka has promoted a climate of fear under which no electoral processes could be called democratic, and the regime’s human rights abuses have effectively frozen genuine political activities and discourse inside Belarus.

On December 5, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on the 30^th anniversary of the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances that was signed on December 5, 1994, which accompanied Ukraine’s accession to the Treaty on non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. In its statement, the Ukrainian MFA claims that “This document was supposed to provide Ukraine with guarantees of security, sovereignty, and territorial integrity in exchange for giving up the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal. The Memorandum was to become a significant step in strengthening global nuclear disarmament and serve as an example for other states to give up nuclear weapons.” According to Ukraine, the treaty failed to protect the country from Russia’s invasion back in 2014 and even more so from its full-scale invasion in 2022. Back in February 2022, Belarus removed its neutrality status concerning nuclear weapons from its constitution in a fake referendum staged by the Lukashenka regime, and in 2023, it allowed Putin to deploy tactical nuclear weapons on its territory. Whenever it is convenient for the regime, Lukashenka’s authorities turn to the provisions of the Memorandum on security assurances to non-nuclear states to accuse the West of ignoring them, especially in applying restrictive measures such as sanctions and economically painful bans.

On December 5, German media reported that the MP of the Federal State of Saxony from the German AfD Party Jörg Dornau, who is in the media spotlight for allegedly using the manpower of Belarusian political prisoners on his farm, might face up to 15 years imprisonment as new accusations came to light. Dornau is also accused now of circumventing the sanctions and delivering a forklift truck, Manitou MLT 731, to Belarus. The truck was sent from Poland to Kazakhstan, according to customs documents, to an individual address in Almaty, which is already unusual. According to the German customs authorities, the machine has been under sanctions of the EU since March 2022 as prohibited from delivery to Belarus.

During the period under consideration, the leader of the Belarusian democratic forces, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, attended the Second Strategic Dialogue between the U.S. government and the democratic forces of Belarus, held in Vilnius, Lithuania. Many important issues were addressed: the situation of political prisoners, civil society and the media, accountability for the regime’s crimes, national identity, sanctions, and the 2025 sham election. The meeting emphasized the need to deepen the partnership between the United States and the democratic forces of Belarus. Dedicated working groups will be established to ensure that the agreed initiatives are implemented.

Tsikhanouskaya issued an address on International Volunteer’s Day emphasizing the significance of volunteer work and expressing her admiration for the people who “work without days off and guaranteed rewards.”

In an interview with ERR.ee, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya shared her perspective on the situation in Belarus and public opinion toward the war and the Lukashenka regime. The leader emphasized that Belarusians oppose aggression and do not support policies that turn their country into an international pariah.

Tsikhanouskaya announced the Belarus Days, which will take place from December 9 to 13 in Brussels in cooperation with the European Commission and European Parliament.  A series of events will be held as part of the 4th session of the EU Consultative Group for Belarus’ democratic forces, bringing together over 100 representatives of the democratic forces, civil society, independent media, and human rights organizations alongside the political leadership of EU institutions and international organizations.

On November 23, the Brest Regional Court sentenced Dzmitry Pazdnyakou, a lecturer at the military faculty of Belarusian State University, to 19 years of imprisonment under the charges of high treason. This was reported by the state television channel Belarus-1 on December 3 in a special story about the KGB activities “Polish special services recruit Belarusians.” According to the story, he was recruited during another one of his trips to Poland. He passed information about his work, employees of the Brest military commandant’s office, and other information to the Polish special services. It was alleged that Pazdnyakou received a total of 60,000 USD for his work for the Polish security services. Pazdnyakou was detained because “operational information was received that he was going to leave Belarus”. It is known that the administration of the colony sent him to a cell-type room. According to “Viasna” Human Rights Center, he was tortured in the colony with a stun gun, and forced to sign documents and blank sheets. Pazdnyakou has been recognized as a political prisoner. Together with Pazdnyakou, Polish citizen Tomas Beroza was sentenced to 14 years of imprisonment. He was charged with espionage activities. The plot of the story also featured a Polish citizen, Jerzy Żywalewski. He was detained on March 25, 2022, and accused of espionage activities. On March 22, 2023, he was sentenced to four years of imprisonment, and the trial was held behind closed doors.

On November 29, political prisoner Dzmitry Kazlou, a YouTube blogger known as the “Grey Cat”, was tried again. His new case was heard by the court of the Bobruisk district and Bobruisk. At the end of November, Kazlou was supposed to be released after four and a half years of imprisonment. However, he was accused of “malicious disobedience to the requirements of the administration of the correctional institution”. The details of the verdict are still unknown.

1,290 persons are currently recognized as political prisoners in Belarus, and their number is increasing almost weekly. According to “Viasna” Human Rights Center, at least 1,302 persons have been released from correctional institutions since 2020. In November, at least 87 persons were released: 24 served their sentences in full, of which only four were women, and 63 more were pardoned by Lukashenka.

In November, human rights defenders recorded 671 cases of repression in Belarus, including 377 administrative trials. A third of those persecuted were women. Most of the facts were recorded in the Brest and Homel regions, “Viasna” reports.

On December 2, representatives of the Minsk startup hub Imaguru were sentenced by the Minsk City Court. Their trial began on September 2 and lasted for three months. Tattiana Marynich and Anastasia Khamyankova were convicted in absentia, while Yauhen Pugach was tried in person as he has been in custody since July 2023. 10 charges were brought against Marynich and Khamyankova: conspiracy or other actions committed to seizing state power; calls for restrictive measures (sanctions) or other actions aimed at harming the national security of the Republic of Belarus; tax evasion; abuse of power or official authority; discrediting of the Republic of Belarus; promotion of extremist activities; incitement of racial, national, religious or other social hostility or discord; participation in an armed formation or armed conflict, military operations on the territory of a foreign state, recruitment or training of persons for such participation; financing of extremist activities; and creation of an extremist formation or participation in it. Tattiana Marynich was sentenced in absentia to 12 years of imprisonment, as well as a fine of 280 thousand rubles (more than 81,000 euros). Anastasia Khamyankova was sentenced in absentia to 11 years of imprisonment, as well as a fine of 280 thousand rubles (more than 81,000 euros). Both women were deprived of the right to hold positions related to the performance of organizational, administrative, and economic work for five years. Yauhen Pugach was sentenced to four and a half years of imprisonment, as well as a fine of 20 thousand rubles (5,800 euros). He was also deprived of the right to hold positions related to the performance of organizational, administrative, and economic work for five years. He was found guilty of calling for restrictive measures (sanctions), other actions aimed at harming the national security of the Republic of Belarus, and tax evasion.

On December 4, another group of children from the occupied regions of Ukraine was brought to Belarus. “The children will stay in Belarus until December 18. They will be treated in a sanatorium and undergo rehabilitation. A cultural entertainment program will be organized for them,” Aleh Ramanau, Chair of the pro-Lukashenka Belaya Rus party, said in his telegram channel. Representatives of the Belarusian democratic forces regard the mass transfer of children from the Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia to Belarus as illegal — a crime that should be considered by the International Criminal Court. It is known that Ukrainian children taken to Belarus are being reeducated, subjected to military propaganda, and indoctrinated in the “Russian World” spirit.

On December 5, a trial of former political prisoner Homel videographer Andrei Tolchyn, who was released on pardon on September 16, took place in the court of the Savetski district of Homel. The exact verdict is still unknown, but it is assumed that he is under arrest on charges of distributing extremist products. Two more cases of detention of former political prisoners released on a pardon in 2024 are known. One of them was detained a month after his release for refusing to cooperate with “certain government structures.” He is currently in a pretrial detention center. In another case, a political prisoner had spent three years in prison for participating in protests and was released after the end of his term. He stayed in Belarus to help his sick parents. According to his friend, the police kept coming to him “for any reason,” he was taken for interrogations, and his phone was checked. After a while, he was detained and charged with promoting extremism. He is currently in a pretrial detention center.

Co-founder and head of the BYSOL charitable foundation, human rights activist Andrei Stryzhak, and co-founder and head of the BYHELP Foundation Alyaksei Lyavonchyk will be tried in absentia. The Investigative Committee opened special proceedings in their regard. 17 charges were brought against them: creating an extremist formation, financing extremist activities, facilitating extremist activities, insulting a government representative, insulting and slandering Lukashenka, inciting racial, national, or religious hatred, propaganda of terrorism, and others. It was emphasized that “these crimes were committed as part of an organized group.”

On December 11, the Ivatsevichi district court will consider a submission from the colony administration “on transfer to a correctional institution of a different type and changing the conditions of the regime” concerning political prisoner, military analyst Yahor Lyabedok. His sentence will be toughened and he will be transferred to a prison regime.

The mother of political prisoner Yulia Laptonavich, Tattyana Vasilyeva, is accused of facilitating extremist activities for an interview with Belsat TV channel in 2021. Her trial will begin on December 16 in the Brest Regional Court. She is currently held in the Brest pre-trial detention center. Tattyana was detained in Pruzhany in January 2024 during a raid by security forces. She was tried under an administrative charge for receiving foreign aid. In August, she was detained again, this time in a criminal case. Tattyana’s daughter, Yulia Laptonavich, was sentenced to three years of “home chemistry” (restriction of freedom) in the “round dance case” in 2021. In 2022, she was tried on six charges, including promoting extremist activities and insulting a government official. She was sentenced to five years of imprisonment. Yulia’s husband Ihar Laptonavich was sentenced to two and a half years of imprisonment in 2021 in the “round dance case”.

The Human Rights Committee, a treaty body of the United Nations, confirmed the violation of Siarhei Tsikhanousky’s rights to freedom of expression through peaceful assembly, guaranteed by Articles 19 and 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The opinion was adopted by the Committee at the 142^nd session in October but has only been published now. “Although the Lukashenka regime denounced the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 2023 (Belarusian citizens are no longer able to file complaints with the Human Rights Committee), this does not release Minsk from its obligations to implement decisions taken at the UN”, human rights defender Leanid Sudalenka commented. Now Belarus is obliged to provide Siarhei Tsikhanousky with effective means of compensation for damages in connection with violations of his rights, including monetary compensation. The government of Belarus has been ordered to review the national law on mass events so that its implementation does not lead to such violations. Belarusian officials are obliged to inform the UN Committee about the implementation of the adopted decision within 180 days. They should also ensure that the Committee’s opinion is published and widely disseminated.

On December 1, the award ceremony of the Johann Philipp Palm Prize for Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press was held in the German city of Schorndorf. The 2024 laureates were the editor-in-chief of the Belarusian portal Tut.by Maryna Zolatava and media ZanTimes, which writes about human rights in Afghanistan. Maryna Zolatava has been held in custody for three and a half years. The court sentenced her to 12 years of imprisonment in a politically motivated case. She is serving her sentence in the Homel colony, the conditions in which former prisoners call torture. The website of the Johann Philipp Palm Foundation notes that Zolatava faced severe repression from the state, but showed extraordinary courage and honesty in her work.

On December 5, a hearing on “The role of Belarus in Russia’s crimes” was held in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress. The hearing examined the unequal partnership between Russia and Belarus in the context of the war, from Belarus’ complicity in the forced relocation and indoctrination of Ukrainian children to military cooperation and sanctions evasion. Witnesses brought to light Belarus’ culpability in crimes committed against Ukraine and the rest of Europe and offered recommendations for how we can hold both countries accountable. Among the witnesses were Matvei Kupreichyk, BELPOL, Katsyaryna Rashevska, Regional Center for Human Rights, and Gabrielius Landsbergis, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania. In his speech Gabrielius Landsbergis underlined that Belarus is the number one country helping Russia to avoid sanctions. Therefore, it is extremely important to coordinate the sanctions imposed against Russia with the sanctions imposed against Belarus.

37 OSCE participating states, which are members of the informal Group of Friends of Democratic Belarus, made a joint statement on the situation in Belarus. It was announced on December 6 at the 31^st meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Malta. Authors deplored Belarus’ involvement and complicity in Russia’s unprovoked, unjustifiable, and illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, which has been accompanied by further human rights violations, and contributed to regional and international instability. “We remain deeply concerned about the continuously deteriorating human rights situation in Belarus. The Belarusian authorities pursue their crackdown on human rights to stifle opposition and silence independent voices. Individuals attempting to exercise their human rights and fundamental freedoms continue to be subjected to intimidation, harassment, abuse, and arbitrary detention, including acts of transnational repression while in exile. The civic space has been eradicated,” the statement reads. Signatories of the statement underlined that while they recognize the pardons that have been granted since July 2024, they emphasize that the Belarusian authorities continue to arbitrarily detain many more citizens on political grounds than they have pardoned. They thus reiterated their demand for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, as well as for their effective rehabilitation. “In keeping with its OSCE commitments, Belarusian authorities must end these human rights violations and allow Belarusian citizens to participate in free and fair elections, with genuine choice and without fear of repression, starting with the presidential elections scheduled in January 2025”, they stated.

From December 9 to 13, 2024, the European Commission and the European External Action Service, in cooperation with the European Parliament, will hold “Days of Belarus” (#BelarusDays), a series of events in support of Belarusians on the eve of the so-called presidential elections in January 2025. The project is also timed to coincide with Human Rights Day, celebrated on December 10. The “Days of Belarus” aim to demonstrate continued support for the Belarusian people and their culture. A series of events will occur simultaneously with the fourth meeting of the EU Advisory Group with Belarusian democratic forces and civil society. “Days of Belarus” will include a musical evening, a high-level conference in the European Parliament, and cultural events dedicated to Belarusian culture, identity, language, and heritage. The events will be attended by MEPs, diplomats, representatives of the EU, international organizations, NGOs, think tanks, the media, and the general public.

During the period under review, the Lukashenka-controlled media continued to justify Russia’s use of the “Oreshnik” missile system against Ukraine. Siarhei Mikhovich: “Moreover, it is important that Russia launched this strike precisely for defensive purposes after the Ukrainian armed forces were allowed by the US and its European allies to strike territories in the Kursk and Bryansk regions.” According to the author, this “so far secret weapon of Russia acted as another reliable shield” for the security of Belarus.

The propagandists paid much attention to the situation in Georgia, drawing parallels with the protests in Belarus in 2020 and traditionally accusing the West of “staging the Ukrainian scenario.” SB.Belarus Segodnya columnist Anton Papou: “The sharp jump in the level of violence on the streets was expected. The West is acting on familiar patterns, trying to repeat the scenario of the Ukrainian Maidan, which also began after the refusal of the authorities from European integration. As in Kyiv eleven years ago, numerous NGOs have brought hundreds of radicals onto the streets, who are hiding behind crowds of fooled youth <…> In an attempt to bring down the legitimate authorities in Tbilisi, the West is using the same arsenal that it used earlier in Belarus and other countries that have been subjected to hybrid attacks.” ONT propagandist Ihar Tur: “All the political mischief in Georgia is stiff-necked by Tbilisi’s desire to live independently. The West is becoming less and less secretive about its direct interference in the sovereign affairs of countries.”

On December 3, the TV channel Belarus-1 showed the film “Counterintelligence of the KGB of Belarus against the special services of Poland. Agents and Traitors.” In the material, among other things, the viewer is offered to look at two prisoners behind bars; each of them tells his story on the camera. They are Polish citizens Tomasz Bieroza and Jerzy Żywalewski, who lived in Belarus and were sentenced to long prison terms – allegedly for espionage and agent activity. MP Vadzim Hihin gave this assessment to the movie, in which the narration was led by BT propagandist Yauhen Horyn: “Such information and propaganda work is no less important than direct operational and investigative work. It allows us not only to tell the public about the successes of our security officers. In this way, it is also possible to carry out prevention, showing citizens what methods of recruitment are used by foreign intelligence services. This, in turn, prevents society from sinking into a kind of “warm bath” of complacency. By publicizing the results of counterintelligence activities, our KGB strikes another blow to the enemy.” Pro-government political analyst Andrei Lazutkin believes that the Polish security services are “sad now,” as “the Polish media do not have even close to similar movies about ‘Belarusian spies,’ although it would be a brilliant propaganda material for NATO,” while the people detained by the Polish Agency for National Security are not spies at all, but are “victims of Polish provocation,” so they allegedly cannot be included in the potential “exchange fund.”

On December 3, chairman of the pro-governmental party “Belaya Rus” Aleh Ramanau informed that 38 children from Donbas had arrived in Belarus and would stay in the territory of Belarus and be “treated in a sanatorium” until December 18. Vadzim Hihin commented on the news: “The most important thing is to help the children of Donbas. No matter how hard the enemy tries to hinder us, no matter what nefarious tricks they try to use, we have done and will continue to do this work.” Belarusian and foreign human rights activists have repeatedly noted that Ukrainian children taken to Belarus are subjected to re-education and militarization.

Propagandist Ryhor Azaronak asked the guest of his program, the newly appointed Minister of Culture Ruslan Charnetski, whether artists who did not support Lukashenka in 2020 have a chance to “somehow be present” in the cultural life of the country. Charnetski replied that for the cultural sphere, “every person is valuable,” but noted that the political views of employees play a crucial role. He urged his “misguided” colleagues to take action: “If a person has realized that yes, he was wrong, it means that some actions should be taken to show and prove this sincerity. Just saying so is not enough.”

On the air of Alfa Radio, pro-governmental political analyst Yury Shautsou expressed his fear that “enemies of Belarus” actively use AI, which “has penetrated literally into all spheres of life. In his opinion, the AI has “ideological filters.” “If you, for example, start asking them questions about the war in Ukraine, they will give you a collection of information, references, and interpretations that will contradict our state position on this issue. Thus, this program, which is tuned to a person’s emotions, will penetrate the consciousness at a very deep level and program him”.

Recently, Minsk and Moscow have been actively promoting the idea of Eurasian integration as an alternative to European integration. Thus, on December 5, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the 31st meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council that “the principles of sovereign equality of states and mutually respectful dialogue, killed in the OSCE, are embodied in projects of mutually beneficial cooperation within the SCO, CIS, EAEU, the Union State of Russia and Belarus and other Eurasian structures that have no ‘kinship’ with the OSCE. At the same event, Lavrov was echoed by Deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus Yury Ambrazevich. According to him, Minsk is convinced that “the future in the area from Lisbon to Seoul lies within the framework of Eurasian security.”

On December 6, State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus Aliaksandr Valfovich stated that “each president” – both Lukashenka and Putin – had their own “red buttons” and nuclear suitcases: “The weapons that are on the territory of Belarus can be used only by the president of Belarus. And the weapons that are on the territory of Russia, only the president of Russia has the right to use and give a command.” He responded to the clarification that “it’s not necessary to press the second button to trigger the first one,” saying, “It’s up to the two presidents to agree. We are brothers. We have common national interests in terms of the Union State and common tasks.”

After the approval of the Union State Security Concept and the signing of the interstate Treaty on Security Guarantees between Russia and Belarus last week, Aliaksandr Lukashenka said that the countries have reached an unprecedented level of strategic alliance and coordination in the military sphere: “This will make it possible to prevent violation of the territorial integrity of Belarus and Russia, preserve sovereignty, independence, and, most importantly, form guarantees of a peaceful life for our citizens. Even our intentions to sign this treaty overexcited our partners in the West, as we call them. But this is probably not a bad thing. They have noticed it.” Lukashenka also asked Putin to deliver the “Oreshnik” missile system to Belarus. The Russian leader responded by calling it “possible” and specified that such deployment would be possible in the second half of 2025, as the Russian authorities plan to establish a serial production of “Oreshnik” by that date. After the signing of the documents, in a conversation with the Kremlin-pool journalist Alexander Yunashev, Belarusian Foreign Minister Maksim Ryzhankou expressed the opinion that after the appearance of “Oreshnik” in Belarus it would become “easier to conduct a dialogue with partners,” while Finance Minister Yury Seliviorstau suggested that it would even help to lift sanctions from Minsk.”

On December 7, at a meeting with students and teachers in Homel, Ihar Karpenka, chairman of the Central Election Commission of Belarus, explained why the authorities would not publish full lists of the personal composition of election commission members. According to him, these lists “became an object of study of special services of several states”, and later “a kind of bullying” of those who were on the lists began.

Best regards,
iSANS team