Belarus Review by iSANS — December 16, 2024 

Belarus Review (2024 edition, issue 47)

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). 

Flights of Russian drones from Ukraine into the airspace of Belarus have continued. During the week, the flight of at least nine Shahed-type drones was recorded. On December 12 and 13, a flight of eight drones was recorded; on December 15, a flight of one drone. Subsequently, most of them flew to Ukraine. It is known that fighter jets of the Air Force of Belarus attempted to shoot down a “Shahed” with the use of missile weapons.

On December 10, tests of the 9M318 anti-aircraft guided missile for the “Buk-MB2” anti-aircraft missile system were conducted at the “Palessky” site (former 41^st “Merlinsky” aviation training ground). It was reported that the missile was designed to hit high-speed maneuvering aerodynamic targets (drones), missiles of various types, helicopters, and surface targets. The tests were conducted near the border with Ukraine. For this reason, an air alert was announced in the northern regions of Ukraine on December 10.

On December 10, Aliaksandr Lukashenka announced that the Russian “Oreshnik” missile system has a launcher manufactured in Belarus at the Minsk Wheeled Tractor Plant. According to the politician, “The whole launcher in “Oreshnik” is Belarusian. Except for the rocket. Localization is the highest.” The fact that the missile system uses Belarusian-made chassis was first reported back in late November.

On December 10, it became known that at the end of November, a Belarusian delegation visited the city of Pochep (a regional center in the Bryansk region of Russia). The delegation included the Chairs of the Brest and Homel regional executive committees, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff of Belarus. During the visit, Belarusian officials and the military studied the procedure for the construction and maintenance of defensive structures, the cost of construction, the organization of work, and other questions. The construction of fortified areas, informally called the “Khrenin Line” (by the name of the Minister of Defense of Belarus), began in Belarus in 2023. In the spring and summer of last year, the following construction was built: 1) a platoon strong point — near the settlement of Kalinino (Homel district of the Homel region); 2) a “resistance node” of the Kobrin fortified area — near the settlement of Saki (Zhabinki district of the Brest region).

On December 13, Secretary of State of the Security Council Aliaksandar Valfovich visited a section of the state border with Ukraine in the Brest region. During the visit, a surprise inspection of one of the units of the maneuver group of the Brest Border Group was carried out. According to Valfovich, about 20 violations of the state border by various drones were recorded in 2024.

On December 14, it was reported that the State Military Industrial Committee, together with the Ministry of Defense, conducted tests of the “Sapphire” grenade launcher complex at the “Barysau” training ground. The “Sapphire” complex is designed to combat armored vehicles and defeat enemy manpower located in bunkers, light field-type shelters, and urban and rural structures. The tests became the next stage in the introduction of the grenade launcher in the Armed Forces. According to the test results, “Sapphire” confirmed its stated characteristics.

From December 9 to 13, the leader of the Belarusian democratic forces Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya was on a working visit in Brussels, where, among other events, the “Belarusian Days” took place. During the visit, Tsikhanouskaya held meetings with the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, and discussed the non-recognition of Lukashenka’s sham election, ongoing repression, and the EU’s role in supporting Belarusian democratic forces; with Kaja Kallas, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, where they addressed the EU strategy vis-a-vis Belarus, including sanctions, non-recognition of the sham election, sovereignty threats, and the regime’s role in Russia’s war effort; with Andrius Kubilius, EU Commissioner for Defense and Space, where they focused on regional security, militarization of Belarus, and the regime’s arms supplies to Russia; with Mathias Diependaele, Minister-President of Flanders, where she expressed gratitude for supporting the Mission of Democratic Belarus in Brussels, independent media, and civil society, And discussed additional €100,000 allocated for media support and strengthened partnerships; with Marta Kos, EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement where they highlighted €30 million in support for Belarusian civil society in 2025,discussed mobility programs and resilience of democratic initiatives; With Oliver Röpke, President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), where they discussed the role of civil society in Belarus’ democratic transition and potential EESC support for Belarusian initiatives; with the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Belarus, including its leaders Małgorzata Gosiewska and Michał Kobosko as well as rapporteurs on Belarus where they addressed sanctions, political prisoners, and stronger ties with Belarus’ democratic forces; and with special envoys for Belarus where they discussed plans for 2025 and international coordination issues with ambassadors and envoys. During the visit, the following events took place: opening of the “Voices from Prison” exhibition: Shared stories of political prisoners, emphasizing international solidarity and action; a high-level conference on Belarus at the European Parliament; meeting with the Delegation for Relations with Belarus where the EU’s role in countering the Lukashenka regime and advancing Belarus’ European integration was discussed; musical evening,  featuring Yahor Zabelau and “Volny Chor”; and #FramedinBelarus exhibition which highlighted Belarusian culture and its role in preserving national identity and unity.

On December 11, the European Commission decided to provide an additional €170 million to the EU member states bordering Russia and Belarus to strengthen the EU frontline and tackle the weaponization of migration. “Russia and Belarus take advantage of people, using human beings in an act of hostility, disregarding their vulnerability,” says a press release by the European Commission. “They use this hybrid warfare as a political tool to destabilize our societies, to undermine the unity of the EU, and to jeopardize the safety and integrity of the Schengen area and the security of the Union as a whole.” The new funding will allow Finland, Norway, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to upgrade their electronic surveillance equipment, improve telecommunication networks, deploy mobile detection equipment, and counter the drone intrusion. According to the European Commission, in 2024, irregular arrivals at the EU-Belarusian border, especially the Polish-Belarusian border, increased significantly, specifically by 66 percent compared to 2023. Ninety percent of migrants illegally crossing the Polish-Belarusian border have a Russian student or tourist visa. Against this background, the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen, announced new measures allowing member states to bend EU law under certain circumstances. This way, the EU allowed countries bordering Russia and Belarus to restrict the right to asylum, but only following strict conditions and limits.

On December 11, the 4^th meeting of the Consultative Group between the European Union and Belarusian democratic forces and civil society took place in Brussels. The meeting was part of the Belarusian Days – a series of events in support of the Belarusian people organized by the European Parliament, the European Commission, and the European External Action Service. The meeting was co-chaired by European External Action Service (EEAS) Managing Director Michael Siebert and Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, leader of Belarusian democratic forces, in the presence of representatives of the EEAS, the European Commission and Belarusian democratic forces and civil society. The Consultative Group addressed the political situation in Belarus, including the growing repression and deteriorating human rights conditions, the regime’s complicity in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and its instrumentalization of migration at the EU’s external borders. Participants also discussed Belarus’ increasing dependence on Russia, further undermining its sovereignty.

On December 11, the information was published on the official website of the European Ombudsman about an opening of the case related to a failure of the Council of the European Union to reply to a letter about the inclusion of sanctions against Belarus in the EU’s sanctions. The complaint was received on November 26, and now a case was opened for further investigation. There is no detailed information on the details of the complaint; it is just stated that the country in consideration is Belgium.

On December 13, the State Border Committee of Belarus announced the extension of the visa-free entry for citizens of European countries until the end of 2025. The committee said in a statement that this measure was extended due to the popularity of visa-free entry to Belarus among foreigners upon the decision of the “President.” It applies to citizens of 38 European countries. Over a million citizens of European countries have traveled to Belarus since the start of the visa-free entry, the statement said. “The visa-free entry is the most popular among tourists from the neighboring countries of the European Union, namely, Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland, as well as Germany, Estonia, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom,” it said. It is important to note that the Foreign Ministries of the vast majority of these countries have issued a warning to their citizens regarding traveling to Belarus.

Since the end of October, the Belarusian authorities have changed their tactics in covering the scale of repression taking place in the country. Telegram channels linked to the security forces no longer publish so-called “repentant” videos featuring detained opponents of the regime. There are significantly fewer announcements of cases under politically motivated charges in the schedules of court sessions that can be found in the public domain. In addition, those convicted of “political” charges are not given court documents. Several persons who were recently sentenced reported about it. According to lawyers, those convicted are deprived of the opportunity to appeal the court’s decision. For the same reason, political prisoners are not given pens and paper in custody; they are deprived of the opportunity to file complaints. A lawyer can write a complaint instead of the person, but not everyone has a contract with a lawyer before being detained.

On December 7, the former director and editor of the BelaPAN news agency, political prisoner Iryna Leushina was released from the colony after she had fully served her sentence. She wrote on her Facebook page that she would not leave the country. She was sentenced to four years of imprisonment on charges of creating an “extremist formation”, which the authorities considered part of the employees of the BelaPAN information company.

On December 9, Aliaksandr Lukashenka pardoned 29 more persons convicted of crimes of “extremist orientation”. Among them were 11 women and 18 men, including three pensioners, two persons with disabilities, and fifteen persons with chronic diseases. This is the seventh pardon in Belarus in six months. In total, 207 persons who were considered political prisoners by human rights activists have been released in 2024. According to “Viasna” Human Rights Center, as of December 9, there are 1,283 persons imprisoned for political reasons in Belarus. The list of political prisoners on the eve of the January 2025 presidential elections continues to grow. Since the summer of 2020, human rights defenders have recognized almost 3,600 persons as political prisoners, including 656 women. Many of them have already been released after serving their sentences in full.

The Prosecutor General’s Office has sent a criminal case against Pavel Daneyka, economist, administrative director of BEROC, co-founder of the Institute of Privatization and Management, and a number of Belarusian analytical centers, to the court. He is accused of organizing entrepreneurial activities without a license, involving the receipt of income on a particularly large scale, as well as conspiracy to seize state power and participate in an “extremist formation.”

The owner of the Hrodna website s13.ru Siarhei Chabotka was not released after the third term of administrative arrest. He was supposed to be released on December 7. On October 25, the website s13.ru, dedicated to the news of Hrodna and the region, was recognized as “extremist materials”. On the same day, Chabotka was tried and sentenced to 15 days of arrest. The second trial took place on November 6. On November 22, Chabotka again received 15 days of arrest.

The Investigative Committee announced the start of special proceedings (in absentia investigation) against five soldiers of the Kalinovsky Regiment fighting on Ukraine’s side. They were all invited to come to the Investigative Committee.

The elected President of Belarus, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, in her address on the International Human Rights Day, which is celebrated on December 10, noted that “today, even in the heart of Europe, [human] rights are under threat.” “Instead of ensuring our rights, the state has become an instrument of oppression. Thousands of Belarusians were thrown behind bars for deciding to defend their freedom and dignity. They are being held in appalling conditions, their freedom and health are being taken away, and they are being deprived of contact with their relatives. I also feel this pain: for more than 640 days I have not been able to find out about my husband’s fate,” she said. The word “incommunicado” became the main Belarusian word in 2024. It means complete isolation and disconnection from the outside world. This is how many political prisoners are tortured. Among those held incommunicado are Siarhei Tsikhanousky, Viktar Babaryka, Mikalai Statkevich, and Ihar Losik.

On December 10, Sviatlana Krutsikava from Pinsk district committed suicide by throwing herself in front of a train. The woman was tried several times on “extremist” charges and arrested. The last trial was held on November 6 under an administrative charge of the distribution of “extremist materials.” Sviatlana’s friends believe that she could not withstand searches, detentions, inspections, and psychological pressure from the police. They note that the woman had no other reasons for suicide — she was active and cheerful. “The regime destroys people not only in prisons. It destroys health – both physical and mental – by bullying, threats of persecution, and endless manipulations. At some point, even the hardened hearts of Belarusians cannot stand it,” Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya wrote in this regard.

In early December, mass arrests took place in Baranavichi in the case of the closed Intex-Press newspaper. Seven persons have been detained on charges of facilitating extremist activities, “Viasna|Brest” writes. The editorial office of the Intex-Press faced pressure after the 2020 elections. It was searched, its equipment was seized, and its website was blocked. The journalists of the media were detained. In 2022, the newspaper was deprived of state registration. In April 2023, the Intex-Press website and social networks were recognized as “extremist materials”.

The former political prisoner, who was released from Novapalotsk colony No. 1, told Belsat TV channel the latest news about imprisoned journalists Ihar Losik, Andrzej Poczobut, and Andrei Aliaksandrau. Ihar Losik was engaged in cleaning old cables from insulation– this work is considered in the colony to be difficult and harmful. He was inconvenient for the administration of the colony because his wife always stood up for him and often talked about him with journalists. After her interviews, Ihar was put under even more pressure. At some point, the administration of the colony decided to put him in a cell-type room. There is an opinion that this way, they tried to hide Losik from prying eyes so that information about his health condition would not leak anywhere. People who saw him said he had lost a lot of weight, looked like a skeleton, and was very pale. People in uniform visited him and tried to force him to write a petition for clemency, but he refused. According to Belsat, Ihar Losik, like Viktar Babaryka, is being held in a special department, which includes punishment cells and cell-type rooms, and is located in a separate building. In summer, the cell-type rooms are constantly cool – a temperature there is 18 degrees Celsius maximum. The rest of the year they are wildly cold. While ordinary prisoners are allowed to shop at the prison store, Ihar was sometimes not allowed to buy even the most necessary things. Meals in the cell-type rooms and in the punishment cells are cut in half compared to the prison squad meals. Prisoners feel awfully hungry all the time. Andrzej Poczobut was locked up in a punishment cell almost immediately after his arrival to the colony. Then he was in the 4^th squad for a while. He was asked to write a petition for clemency more than once. “Aliaksandr Lukashenka wants Andrzej to repent personally,” the former political prisoner believes, – “they even gave him ready-made forms, so that he did not even have to write anything. But Andrzej still didn’t sign it.” He was sent to a punishment cell several times and was not given the necessary medicines. Letters and parcels have not reached him for months, and there have been practically no visits or calls from his family. “It weakened him a lot,” the source said. – “Andrzej has heart problems, his blood pressure is very high, and his eyesight is severely impaired, but he still does not give up.” Andrei Aliaksandrau’s weight is 80 kg maximum, although he used to weigh more than 100 kg before his imprisonment. For some time, Aliaksandrau, like Losik, was engaged in cleaning cables from insulation. It’s a physically demanding job, plus you have to breathe chemicals. Some prisoners develop allergies because of this. He was in a punishment cell once for 10 days, in torturous conditions. At some point, Aliaksandrau was transferred to make pallets. It is considered to be one of the best jobs in the colony. “Now he receives letters from his wife. In the spring, his parents came to visit him. Andrei believes that he will not serve out his term to the end,” the interlocutor summed up.

Journalist Ihar Karney, who was sentenced to three years of imprisonment, was sentenced to another eight months of imprisonment for disobeying the requirements of the colony administration. It is not known for what violations Karney was charged. He was sent to a cell-type room several times.

33 more persons have been added to the “List of citizens of the Republic of Belarus, foreign citizens or stateless persons involved in extremist activities” on December 13. There are 4,766 persons on the list today.

From December 9 to 13, 82 persons were tried in 52 criminal cases initiated for political reasons. At least 12 trials were held in a closed mode, “Viasna” Human Rights Center reports. Half of the accused, 43 persons, were tried under the charge of “group actions grossly violating public order”. At least nine persons were tried under the charge of “high treason”. At least 17 persons were tried for “insulting Lukashenka”, and  11 — for “defamation of Lukashenka”. 19 persons were tried for “inciting discord”. 18 appeals against sentences in political cases were considered during this period.

The Investigative Committee has launched special proceedings against nine persons. Among them is businessman Vadzim Prakopyeu, who has already been tried in absentia twice. This time, he is accused of creating an extremist formation, participating in an armed formation on the territory of a foreign state, recruiting, and training persons for such participation, facilitating extremist activities, and undergoing training to participate in extremist activities. Special proceedings have also begun concerning Aliaksei Manchynsky, Raman Yaromenka, Pavel Kakhnovich, Tsikhan Klyukach, Yaugen Karankevich, Aliaksandr Piatrouski, Yaugen Salokhin, and Yahor Ispenkou.

The Investigative Committee has launched special proceedings against the blogger, a member of the Coordination Council Siarhei Bespalau. He is accused of inciting discord, slander, mass riots, violation of public order, conspiracy to seize power, calls for sanctions, creation of an extremist formation, slander against Lukashenka, insulting Lukashenka, and discrediting Belarus.

The security forces threaten to “take action” against those involved in the operation of the petitions.by, a service for submitting public collective appeals to authorities. “Registration and any active action on the specified resource is used by its owners for their extremist purposes. Having received your personal identifiers, beglyje (the derogatory term for those who have left the country) in their criminal intentions indicate them in spam mailings to various government agencies and institutions, hoping to show the “mass character” of the issue of concern, thereby exposing them to the security forces,” says a Telegram channel close to the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption. It is stated that measures will be taken against “the products of the entire petition network, as well as those responsible for its content and activities.”

The Investigative Committee has completed special proceedings against comedian Slava Kamissarenka. The trial will begin on December 24 in the Minsk City Court. He is accused of deliberate actions aimed at inciting social hostility and discord based on other social affiliations, slander against Aliaksandr Lukashenka contained in a public speech and in information posted on the global computer network, connected to the accusation of committing a serious crime, and public insult of Aliaksander Lukashenka.

The consideration of the criminal case in absentia against blogger Anton Matolka will begin on December 27 in the Hrodna Regional Court. He is accused of conspiracy to seize state power unconstitutionally, organizing mass riots, organizing group actions that grossly violate public order, inciting social hostility and discord, publicly calling for restrictive measures (sanctions) and other actions aimed at harming the national security of the Republic of Belarus, threatening violence, slander and public insult of Lukashenka, discrediting the Republic of Belarus, creating an extremist formation and leading such a formation, financing of extremist activities, and high treason. It is stated that the state allegedly “suffered damage for over 30 million rubles” (more than 8,700,000 Euro) from his actions.

The simplified procedure for issuing Polish travel documents for foreigners for citizens of Belarus will be extended until June 30, 2025. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Poland Maciej Duszyk at a meeting with representatives of democratic forces.

On December 10, the Award Ceremony of the Human Rights Community of Belarus was held in Vilnius. Fyodar Paulyuchenka, editor-in-chief of Reform.news, and Dyjana Pinchuk, a journalist and human rights activist of “Viasna” Human Rights Center, received awards in the nomination “Journalist of the Year-2024”. In the nomination “Human Rights Defender of the Year-2024”, the feminist Nasta Bazar won. The BYSOL Foundation was recognized as the “Human Rights Campaign/Initiative of the Year 2024”. Journalist Ihar Ilyash was awarded the prize in the nomination “Human Rights Solidarity of the Year-2024”.

On International Human Rights Day 2024, the UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy wrote letters to human rights defenders, including imprisoned Nobel Prize winner Ales Bialiatski. The Foreign Secretary urged his release without delay. “The UK stands in solidarity with you and so many other Belarussians who are victims of the widespread repression. I wish you strength and fortitude as you are held in the most appalling conditions and call upon the Belarussian authorities to release you and the nearly 1,300 other political prisoners, immediately and unconditionally”, he wrote.

Belarus ranked fourth in the world in terms of the number of imprisoned journalists, last year it was in third place. There are now 40 journalists behind bars in Belarus (there were 39 at the end of 2023), according to the Reporters Without Borders 2024 Round-up. The largest number of arrested journalists are in China (124, including 11 in Hong Kong), Burma (61), Israel (41), Belarus (40), Russia, and Vietnam (38 each), the authors note. In the World Press Freedom Index 2024, which Reporters Without Borders presented in May, Belarus took the 167^th place.

Meeting with the staff of Barysau enterprise “Pozhsnab” on December 10, Aliaksandr Lukashenka spoke publicly for the first time about the situation in Syria after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, emphasizing that he considers what is happening there a lesson for himself: “… there is a struggle of the main players of the world in Syria. The Americans, the European Union, the Turks are regional, the Russians are involved, and so on. These squabbles began at a certain time, and this is how it ended. This is a lesson for us. We have to determine our fate. We have to save our country!”. Lukashenka also drew parallels with the events of 2020 in Belarus and accused the Poles of wanting to seize the western territories of Belarus: “God forbid, in 2020, they would not stand it, everyone would be here already. Both NATO and the Americans would be after us. And they would push the Poles – the Poles have their interests – they need to pull away western Belarus, as they once did.”  He put the responsibility for the situation in Syria on the West: “There is enough oil and gas there. It is necessary to lay a gas pipeline from somewhere through Syria to the Mediterranean coast. All this is in the interests of the West and the Americans. And they play the main role there.” He expressed confidence that the new Syrian authorities will continue to cooperate with Russia and Belarus. During the meeting, Lukashenka again threatened his opponents with “Oreshnik”: “I have to protect my people, who elected me president. This is my main duty. And security is the holy business of the president. It is a powerful weapon. We have to defend ourselves. We would never build it from scratch to a missile. It’s a lot of money, it’s technology. This is many, many generations. That’s why such a question was raised, and thanks to Vladimir Vladimirovich – he responded to it, said ‘yes’”. Lukashenka also once again said that he brought nuclear weapons into Belarus unnoticed: “I brought nuclear warheads here. Not one dozen of them. Many people write: “Oh, it’s a joke, nobody brought anything.” They did. And the fact that they say it’s a joke means they missed it. They didn’t even notice how we brought them here.” He said he has already sent a warning to his “enemies, friends, and rivals” that he will use it if the state border is violated. During his visit to Barysau, Lukashenka expressed confidence that the occupation of Belarus by Russia was impossible as long as he led the country. The video of this fragment of the speech was published on the Telegram channel Pul Pervogo but the statement did not appear on the official website of the press service or in the state media: “…. Many people are shouting: ‘Here is Russia occupying.’ Look, not with me. No one has occupied anyone here. The fact that they are helping us – thank you.” The politician claims that Russia needs our country very much: “Recently I said: “We have one Fatherland. We have nothing to divide from Brest to Vladivostok. Russians, Belarusians, this is our common fatherland. Common, but two states. Well, you remember, we were not the initiators of the destruction of the Soviet Union. Well, it so happened that today, we have an independent state. Not Russia. A compact, normal state, but, as it turns out, very necessary for Russia today.”

On December 10, the TV channel Belarus 1 broadcasted the second “spy movie” in a month, in which propagandists claim that Poland allegedly tried to recruit a Belarusian diplomat. It is alleged that Polish diplomat Marcin Grabowicz offered his Belarusian colleague Uladzimir money to work for the Polish special services, but the latter allegedly refused, was able to record their conversation and even videotape part of the meeting. Head of the KGB Investigation Department, Kanstantsin Bychak, called the incident “another attempt of the Polish security services to cover up their unprofessionalism against the background of many high-profile failures of their agents in Belarus. To refute the “assumptions of some media”, he said that the Belarusian authorities were not going to exchange anyone. According to him, the Belarusian side receives offers to exchange “foreign citizens imprisoned for espionage” for “robbers, rapists, drug addicts.”

On December 12, Aliaksandr Lukashenka received from the hands of the Head of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Alexander Bastrykin, the medal “For Fidelity to Duty” for strengthening cooperation between the investigative committees of Belarus and Russia. Lukashenka shared with him the opinion that Belarusians are no different from Russians: “You know, Belarusians are such people – they are no different from those who were born not only in Pskov but also in Leningrad. We believe these are our people.”

The same day, Lukashenka convened a meeting of the Security Council, which was devoted to “issues of defense planning for the medium term.” In his opinion, the security forces should not be complacent because NATO and the U.S. “have experienced people”: “I want to emphasize once again: we should not get complacent in any case. It seems calm, people have realized and reevaluated a lot of things. Many of those who thought differently in 2020 and earlier think quite differently today. That’s why it seems calm and good. Under no circumstances should we relax. We should not think that we are smart and have God by the beard and that everyone around us, especially in NATO and America, are fools. No, these are experienced people with great power, so we must not relax. We must work with our people, convince them, show them, and most importantly, work so that people would be better off.” He added that it is necessary to take proactive actions so that “probable adversaries and rivals realize that it is better not to mess with us, that we should live amicably with us. At the same time, according to him, the army of Belarus does not threaten anyone and is an instrument to prevent war, and in case of aggression, should be able to repel it.”

Anatol Hlaz, spokesperson for the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, said that Minsk is ready to respond positively to constructive steps of Vilnius, as Belarusians have “absolutely normal relations with Lithuanians themselves.” He believes that the outgoing Lithuanian government did not act in the interests of its people and hopes that the new government has people who can “look differently at the solution of Lithuania’s internal problems and its positioning in the world, including relations with Belarus.” At the same time, he does not express much optimism since the new government, in his opinion, has already imposed “anti-Belarusian narratives.” Hlaz predicts a crisis in Lithuania and hints that the authorities of Belarus would support possible protests: “Several political leaders were not allowed into the government, and anti-Belarusian and anti-Russian narratives were imposed on the [new government’s] program from outside. All this will drive the socio-economic situation in Lithuania into an even deeper crisis. One would think that Lithuanians have no other problems, for example, with energy, prices, infrastructure, unemployment or outflow of population, and health care. Of course, this will harm the welfare, comfort, and security of Lithuanians themselves. As a result, it is not excluded that the Lithuanian people will soon have to say their word again, and it will be more weighty. Belarus will always support a real people’s democracy.”

On the air of ONT, Colonel Andrei Bahadzel, Deputy Head of the Faculty of the General Staff of the Belarusian Army, admitted that Russia had suffered a defeat in Syria but tried to find positive aspects in this situation: “What is happening today in Syria is certainly a defeat for the Russian Federation. But it is only a [relative] defeat for Russia. After all, Russia managed to avoid a strategic defeat. The West, together with Turkey, was preparing a war on two fronts. On the one hand, the Strategic Defense Forces, and on the other hand, try to fight in the Middle East as well. According to him, supporting the regime in Syria was logistically difficult, and Russia chose “the only correct option” – it did not “cling” to this region in order not to suffer greater losses.”

On December 12, at the International Scientific and Practical Conference dedicated to the adoption of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, Belarusian Defense Minister Viktar Khrenin accused Ukraine, Poland, and the Baltic States of “Nazism and fascism” and the USA and NATO of “aggressive imperialism.” According to him, in the XXI century, “we again have to face the manifestations of Nazism and fascism, in which revanchists see the symbol of former national power and greatness.” “At the forefront of this reckless policy is the leadership of Poland, the Baltic States and Ukraine, where the rehabilitation of Nazi criminals and crimes committed by them, torchlight processions, marches of SS legionnaires and neo-Nazis are encouraged.” “The deep essence of fascism, which lies in the superiority of one nation over the rest and violence, is manifested in modern Ukrainian Nazism,” said Khrenin. He believes that the “plague of Nazism” has not only “closely approached” the borders of Belarus but has also “spread like a malignant tumor to many Western countries.” “It is obvious that a new redistribution of the world and the seizure of territories and resources are being carried out using “fascist models,” he emphasized, without specifying which states are occupying other people’s lands. “Today, all sane people who have a conscience and a heart must present a united front against the irresponsible policies of the ruling elites of the West, who incite confrontation and push the planet into the conflagration of the Third World War,” concluded the Defense Minister.

Best regards,
iSANS team