Belarus Review by iSANS — June 8, 2026 

According to Ukrainian monitoring channels, 46 unmanned aerial vehicles were recorded in Belarusian airspace between 1 and 7 June, including two Ukrainian drones. Throughout the week, Belarusian Air Force aircraft assigned to air-policing duties were scrambled daily to intercept UAVs. According to media reports, a Russian drone crashed in Slutsk, approximately 100 km south of Minsk, on 2 June. The incident was not officially commented on.

Personnel changes in the General Staff of the Belarusian Armed Forces took place on 1 June. Colonel Pavel Prasol was appointed Head of the Communications Directorate of the General Staff. Major General Vadzim Ramaniu, who had previously held the post, was appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Combat Command.

On 2 June, the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus held a meeting of its expert council. Participants reviewed a draft law “On Amendments to Legislation on Military Service”, prepared by the Ministry of Defence. The document establishes the legal basis for foreign citizens to perform military service under contract in the Belarusian Armed Forces and Internal Troops.

On 2 June, the Belarusian Ministry of Defence reported that a delegation headed by Defence Minister Viktar Khrenin was visiting Moscow. During the trip, he held talks on military-technical cooperation and visited an enterprise belonging to Russia’s defence-industrial complex. The name of the enterprise was not disclosed in official reports.

As part of the visit, Khrenin also took part in a meeting of the Council of Defence Ministers of the CSTO member states. Discussions focused on challenges and threats to military security in the organisation’s collective security regions. In his remarks, Khrenin stated that in the Eastern European region “the probability of a military conflict being unleashed against the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, both CSTO members, as well as the possibility of its subsequent transformation from a regional into a global conflict, is extremely high”.

On the sidelines of the meeting, the defence ministers of Belarus and Russia also held bilateral talks. The parties reviewed the main areas of bilateral cooperation and discussed possible directions for further interaction. Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov noted that the two countries continue to actively develop military and military-technical cooperation, which is particularly important “in conditions of continuous hostile NATO activity near our borders”.

On 3 June, the House of Representatives ratified a protocol amending the Belarus–Russia Agreement on the Development of Military-Technical Cooperation of 10 December 2009. Addressing deputies, Chairman of the State Authority for Military Industry Dzmitry Pantus stated that the changes were required in light of the altered geopolitical environment. According to him, the amendments expand the list of organisations authorised to independently procure military-technical equipment. They also modify procedures for concluding and implementing contracts and simplify the procurement of components required for the maintenance and repair of military equipment.

On 4 June, Kursk Region Governor Alexander Khinshtein stated at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum that Belarusian specialists were participating in demining operations in the Kursk region. According to him, servicemen from the Belarusian Armed Forces’ Mine Action Centre (military unit 97108) had been involved in these activities during 2026. In its regular operations, the unit is responsible for clearing Belarusian territory of explosive hazards and training Belarusian servicemen in mine clearance, including humanitarian demining.

On 4 June, Minsk hosted staff-level talks on preparations for CSTO exercises “Indestructible Brotherhood-2026” and “Barrier-2026”. The Ministry of Defence reported that participants agreed on exercise concepts, command structures, the composition of national contingents, practical procedures and logistical arrangements. Reconnaissance visits were also conducted to training areas at the Losvida and Staradarozhskiy ranges. The exercises are scheduled to take place in October 2026.

On 3 June, a training event for senior territorial defence officials was held in the Lepel District. The event was designed to improve skills required for organising territorial defence. Participants practised ambush operations, protection against drones and the engineering preparation of deployment areas. Chief of the General Staff Pavel Muraveika stated that territorial defence is facing increasing requirements. According to him, the number of reservists involved and the scale of activities conducted with territorial defence authorities and territorial troops will continue to increase annually.

From 3 to 5 June, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya visited the United Kingdom, where she met Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Minister for Europe Stephen Doughty, addressed a meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance “For a Democratic Belarus” in Westminster, and participated in a discussion at Chatham House. During her meeting with Starmer, she discussed support for independent media, civil society and political prisoners, coordination of UK and EU policy on Belarus, accountability of the Lukashenka regime, and Minsk’s dependence on Russia. “Supporting a democratic Belarus is an investment in the security of the whole of Europe,” Tsikhanouskaya stated. Talks with Doughty focused on the results of Tsikhanouskaya’s visit to Kyiv, threats posed by the regime, nuclear blackmail, the release of political prisoners, and possible UK participation in the International Humanitarian Fund. Tsikhanouskaya also called on London to support efforts to investigate the regime’s crimes through the International Criminal Court. Speaking in Westminster, she stressed the importance of discussing not only repression but also Belarus’ future: “People living under dictatorship want to hear not only about repression and war, but also about the future we are fighting for.”

On 2 June, Lukashenka and Putin discussed trade and economic relations during a telephone conversation against the backdrop of Russia’s introduction of the new SPOT system. The mechanism requires prior confirmation of shipments from EAEU member states to Russia, with consignments declared in advance and carriers receiving a QR code for border control procedures. One day earlier, Lukashenka had already raised the issue during a meeting with Primorsky Krai Governor Oleg Kozhemyako, acknowledging that the system “may complicate” Belarusian trade with Russia but “will not stop it”. The issue has therefore moved beyond the level of technical coordination and reached the highest political level. Formally, Moscow presents SPOT as a tool for ensuring traceability of goods, combating grey schemes and improving tax control. More broadly, however, the system allows Russia to regulate trade flows across the EAEU, filtering not only Belarusian exports but also transit chains, including flows of Chinese goods to the EU via Belarus and Poland. As a result, SPOT is becoming an instrument for restructuring Eurasian and, to some extent, Europe–China logistics under Russian control.

On 3 June, Lukashenka met Russian businessman of Belarusian origin Dmitry Mazepin, one of the key figures in Russia’s potash industry. He stated that “a wealthy person should work for his homeland” and suggested considering future areas of cooperation. Mazepin later announced that, following an agreement with Prime Minister Aliaksandr Turchyn, Uralkhim plans to build a small water-soluble fertiliser production facility at the Homiel Chemical Plant within the next two years.  It is also worth noting that on 23 April, Homiel Regional Executive Committee Chairman Ivan Krupko met with another Russian tycoon, Mikhail Gutseriev, in Homiel, where the parties discussed the allocation of agricultural land, investment in the agro-industrial sector and the development of farming enterprises in the region.

The growing activity of major Russian businesses with longstanding ties to Belarus comes amid increasing US interest in the issue of Belarusian potash exports. Earlier, US presidential envoy John Coale sent a letter to the governments of Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine proposing discussions on unblocking Belarusian potash transit, which could allow Minsk to reduce its dependence on Russian ports. Mazepin remains a distinctive figure in Belarusian politics. In 2020, he openly intervened in the Belarusian political crisis, called for negotiations with protesters and proposed the creation of a National Salvation Committee. Following these developments, he came to be viewed in Minsk as a potentially influential external actor, while the regime attempted to accuse him of financing the protests, including the NEXTA Telegram channel, allegations that Mazepin denied. Relations normalised at the end of 2025, when Mazepin met Viktar Lukashenka in Minsk on 21 November, formally in connection with sporting cooperation. In this context, renewed Russian business activity appears to reflect Moscow’s concerns over US efforts to restore western transit routes for Belarusian potash.

On 5 June, during the opening of a new regional hospital in Hrodna, Lukashenka defended Belarus’ state-run healthcare model, arguing that the country had preserved a system for which the state remains responsible, while simultaneously signalling that it may be transformed in the future. Referring to expensive medical services currently provided free of charge, he stated: “It will not always be like this.” Against the backdrop of an acute personnel shortage in the healthcare sector, Lukashenka again criticised emigration, including doctors leaving the country, claiming that many wished to return. At the same time, he indicated that any return would be possible only on the regime’s terms: “Come back. But not to your previous job. Work as a hospital attendant, wash floors.” He also accused the democratic forces of attempting to involve Belarusians in the war on Ukraine’s side, asking whether they should become “minced meat” there. The statements indicate the continuation of a hard-line approach towards the political emigration and attempts to contrast those who left with those who remained.

On 3 June, Pozirk reported that Nicolas Lerner, Director-General of France’s Directorate-General for External Security, visited Minsk on behalf of Emmanuel Macron. The visit followed the telephone conversation between Macron and Lukashenka on 24 May. The discussions focused on regional security, preventing Belarus’ involvement in the war against Ukraine, preserving Belarus’ non-nuclear status, the release of political prisoners, the humanitarian situation, prospects for contacts with the EU and sanctions policy. Lukashenka had previously announced the forthcoming visit of Macron’s representative himself.

Potash, smuggling and legal disputes remain at the centre of the Belarusian-Lithuanian confrontation. Lithuania’s Minister of Transport stated that Belarusian potash transit “is not worth discussing” while EU sanctions remain in force until February 2027. Lithuania has also allocated funds for legal expenses related to its case against Belarus before the International Court of Justice over the manufactured migration crisis and damages estimated at more than EUR 200 million. In total, at least six legal tracks can currently be identified in the Belarusian-Lithuanian dispute. These include Belaruskaliy’s claim against Lithuania over the termination of potash transit, the Hasenberg arbitration case concerning the Klaipėda terminal, Lithuania’s case against Belarus over the migration crisis before the International Court of Justice, Lithuania’s referral to the International Criminal Court regarding crimes against humanity committed by the Lukashenka regime against Belarusians inside the country and in exile in Lithuania, property and sanctions-related disputes concerning detained trucks, and attempts by the regime and individual Belarusian state-owned enterprises to challenge European and national sanctions as unlawful. According to official data from the Polish and Latvian border authorities, between 1 and 4 June there were nine attempts to cross the Polish border illegally and 399 attempts on the Latvian section. The main direction of migration pressure remains Latvia.

Russian-Ukrainian humanitarian contacts continued on Belarusian territory. On 5 June, the parties conducted a prisoner-of-war exchange under the “185 for 185” formula. Following the exchange, the released Russian servicemen were transported to Belarus before returning to Russia. At the same time, Russian and Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioners Yana Lantratova and Dmytro Lubinets met on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border. Following the talks, the sides agreed to exchange lists of civilians they were prepared to receive, continue the transfer of letters and parcels to prisoners of war, and explore a mechanism for reciprocal visits to POWs. The events confirmed Belarus’ continuing role as one of the few venues where Russia and Ukraine maintain limited humanitarian contacts despite the ongoing war.

Against this backdrop, Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that he had met Roman Abramovich in Kyiv and conveyed through him a message to Putin expressing readiness for negotiations. At the same time, Zelenskyy stressed that such a meeting could take place “neither in Moscow, nor in Belarus, nor in Minsk”.

On 1 June, Belarusian human rights defenders recognised 20 more convicted and imprisoned people as political prisoners. Among them are four convicts in the case of the sect “Russian Orthodox Church — Tsarist Empire,” “Viasna” Human Rights Centre reported.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs added 13 more people to the “List of citizens of the Republic of Belarus, foreign citizens or stateless persons involved in extremist activities”. Among them was Stanislau Pryhodzich, convicted in absentia. In May, the Homel Regional Court sentenced him to five years of imprisonment and a fine of 4,500 rubles (approximately 1,400 Euro). Pryhodzich was found guilty under charges of incitement of discord, participation in an “extremist formation”, insulting Lukashenka, insulting a government representative, and discrediting Belarus. There are now 6,663 names on the “extremist list”.

The human rights situation in Belarus is characterised as critical, with state terror and repression against dissidents and potential political opponents and participants in protest initiatives continuing unabated, “Viasna” Human Rights Centre wrote in its May 2026 monthly review. There were no systemic improvements in the human rights situation or signals that would indicate the authorities’ intention to end repression and begin the process of national reconciliation. At the end of May 2026, there were 854 political prisoners, including 112 women, in custody. The number of former political prisoners was 3,833. At least 170 political prisoners were in a particularly vulnerable position due to their health, age, or circumstances of detention. During May, human rights defenders recognised 32 people as political prisoners. The report highlighted the continuation of cross-border repression in the form of criminal prosecution of emigrated Belarusians and their relatives who remained in Belarus, as well as regular replenishment of the list of “extremists”, “terrorists” and “extremist materials”.

The Belarusian Helsinki Committee presented a review “Human Rights in Belarus: the main trends of state policy” for January – April 2026. According to the review, the authorities have become even more active in putting pressure on Belarusians who have left the country. One of the pressure tools was the cancellation of the passports of former political prisoners, including those who had previously been forcibly expelled from Belarus. By the end of March 2026, at least 16 such cases had been recorded. Another alarming trend was that of those sentenced to restriction of liberty, those who were still awaiting appeal, were forced to sign statements stating that if they violate the law again, they may be forcibly expelled from the country. Such cases have already become widespread. The principle of collective responsibility is being strengthened in Belarus, when an entire family is punished for one person’s “crime”, states the report.

Since 2020, the Belarusian authorities have liquidated at least 2,033 non-profit organisations. The situation of NGOs remains “consistently unfavourable,” human rights organisation Lawtrend reported. Despite the decrease in the intensity of the liquidation of non-profit organisations compared to the peak periods of 2021-2024, the consequences of the campaign of destruction of independent civil society remain systemic. The key trends characteristic of previous monitoring periods have remained in place, such as the de facto levelling of freedom of association, continued pressure on civil society organisations and their participants, criminalisation of independent civic activism, restriction of access to financing, as well as the development of practices of transnational repression against activists.

Authorities initiated a criminal case on cooperation with the European Humanities University (EHU). It is not yet known under what charges the criminal case was initiated. More than 30 searches and interrogations of those who are in some way connected with the EHU have already taken place throughout the country. “Law enforcement officers come to students who are continuing their studies and threaten them with criminal prosecution if they do not drop out of EHU,” human rights defenders reported. Relatives of EHU students were also threatened with criminal charges. Security forces allegedly stated bluntly: if their children do not stop studying at EHU, then the students’ relatives will be detained within the framework of a criminal case,” human rights defenders said. In mid-April, the Supreme Court of Belarus recognised the European Humanities University as an “extremist organisation”. The representative of the United Transitional Cabinet stated that the regime does not have access to the lists of students, and urged not to store materials related to EHU and avoid trips to Belarus.

It became known that, on 10 April, Ihar Sutyrka was detained after returning from Poland. He is accused of high treason. Sutyrka was a former KGB officer, who resigned in 2014. After resignation from the KGB, he was engaged in IT programming. He lived in Poland for several years. According to “Viasna” Human Rights Centre, he has both Belarusian and Polish citizenship.

The wave of searches at the place of registration of the Belarusians who left the country has continued during the period under review. It is known about more than 30 cases of recent searches of relatives of activists residing abroad. They were conducted by the KGB. Some of the searches were related to activists’ participation in Freedom Day celebrations in Warsaw, Vilnius, Bialystok and the USA.

A court in Minsk sentenced a 38-year-old man to correctional labour for refusing to attend military training. In October 2025, he received a summons to the training camp. On 7 October, he came to the military enlistment office, but refused to go to the training camp, saying that it contradicted his religious beliefs. A criminal case was opened against him. He pleaded not guilty at the trial. The court found him guilty of evading military service and sentenced him to six months of correctional labour withholding 20% of his earnings to the state.

The Homel Regional Court sentenced 65-year-old Siarhei Stasenka from the village of Lahuny, Dobrushski district. Stasenka was charged with attempted terrorism, illegal actions with weapons and explosives, intentionally disabling a vehicle or communication routes, high treason and the creation of an extremist group or participation in it. According to human rights defenders, the case may be related to attempts to interfere with railway traffic in order to counter the use of Belarusian territory and infrastructure in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The exact term of the sentence is being clarified and could be up to 20 years of imprisonment. The circumstances of the case and the verdict are being established.

Since June 2025, Natalia Batasheva, a 62-year-old citizen of Ukraine, has been held in Akrestsina pre-trial detention centre in Minsk. She was detained in Vitsebsk with her husband right on the street and immediately taken to Minsk. The whereabouts of her husband, who is supposedly named Victor, is still unknown. Batasheva’s former cellmate reported to human rights defenders about her. During the year of her imprisonment, Batasheva has not been charged, has not been allowed to meet with a lawyer, and has not been allowed to contact her family. According to a former cellmate, she is under psychological pressure and was placed in a punishment cell. When she tried to pass on information so that her relatives in Mirgorod (Ukraine) could be contacted, KGB officers came to her and intimidated her. During her imprisonment, her health has deteriorated dramatically. She was not provided with proper medical care. The security forces seized 1,200 USD from her to pay for her detention in the detention centre, promising to deport her to Ukraine. Since she has no relatives in Belarus, she has received only about two parcels throughout the year.

The BYSOL foundation continues to raise funds for the children of political prisoners. As of 1 June, 8,206 Euro out of 17,100 established as a target have been collected. This year, the foundation received applications for support from families of Belarusian political prisoners living in Belarus, Poland, Lithuania and other European countries. 100 Euro are paid for each child under the age of 16. This money is used to buy summer clothes, pay for additional classes, psychological help and recreation. As of today, 73 out of 166 children have already received assistance.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Office and the International Humanitarian Fund plan to increase the number of donor countries. Following a meeting with Berit Lindeman, Head of the International Humanitarian Fund, Dzyanis Kuchynski, the Office’s adviser on international affairs, said that expanding the circle of donor countries is one of the key ways to help Belarusians who have suffered from repression. Today, the fund is supported by 13 states. It is planned to expand this circle and attract at least 15 more countries by the end of the year. The Fund was established in Norway in 2024 on the initiative of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. Today, it is one of the key mechanisms of assistance to victims of repression. In December 2025, it allocated more than 200,000 Euro for priority needs of 123 former political prisoners who were expelled from Belarus. During its work, the Fund has received more than 3,000,000 Euro from donor countries.

Belarusian human rights defender, founder of “Viasna” Human Rights Centre, political prisoner and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Ales Bialiatski received the Solidarity and Human Rights Award from the European Solidarity Centre. It was presented to him during the Kościuszko Forum, which took place in Gdansk on 2 June, by the Director of the Centre Magdalena Mistat. The award is given to people who have shown exceptional dedication to the cause of human rights protection not only in civil society, but also in such fields as culture, science and education. “This award is especially honorable for me. Solidarity with all those whose freedom and dignity are being taken away and humiliated is a principle that I have been trying to follow all my life. Solidarity in the protection of fundamental human rights, in the protection of prisoners of conscience and the right of the people to choose their independent path. I carry in my soul the values of the joint struggle against Soviet totalitarianism and Russian imperialism of peoples of Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine and Belarus. I know for sure that when solidarity crosses national borders, it cannot be stopped,” Bialiatski said.

On 2 June, a group of independent UN human rights experts, including Nils Muižnieks, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus; Matthew Gillett, Chair-Rapporteur, Ganna Yudkivska, Vice-Chair, Ethan Hee-Seok Shin, Vice-Chair on Follow-Up, Miriam Estrada-Castillo and Mumba Malila, Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; Zvezdan Pirtošek, Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by the older persons; Ben Saul, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism; Gina Romero, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; Gabriella Citroni, Chair-Rapporteur, Grażyna Baranowska, Vice-Chair, Aua Baldé, Ana Lorena Delgadillo Pérez and Mohamed Al Obaidi, Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; Claudia Flores, Chair, Ivana Krstić,  Vice-Chair, Dorothy Estrada Tanck, Haina Lu, and Laura Nyirinkindi, Working Group on discrimination against women and girls; and Alice Jill Edwards, Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, issued a statement, expressing grave concern over the continued detention, alleged ill-treatment and denial of adequate medical care to several individuals imprisoned in Belarus on politically motivated charges, including charges related to “terrorism” and “extremism”. “We are deeply alarmed by persistent reports of prolonged solitary confinement, incommunicado detention, denial of family contact, and severe restrictions imposed on detainees designated as ‘extremists’ or ‘terrorists’,” the experts said, – “The situation may amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and in some cases could constitute torture. Prolonged incommunicado detention may amount or can be conducive to enforced disappearance”. The experts expressed particular concern regarding the detention of Aliaksandra Pulinovich, who was only 16 years old at the time of her arrest in connection with the so-called “Black Nightingales” case concerning anti-war graffiti protesting the aggression against Ukraine. They also raised concerns regarding the health conditions of Volha Mayorava, Yahor Volkau, Stsiapan Latypau and Viachaslau Areshka. UN experts urged Belarusian authorities to ensure immediate access to independent medical care and to consider humanitarian release or non-custodial measures for detainees whose health conditions place their lives and physical integrity at risk.

On 3 June, the British government’s press service issued an official press release about a meeting between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. It was reported that the topics of the meeting, among other things, included the continuation of repression in Belarus, the release and support of political prisoners, the accountability of the Lukashenka regime for committed crimes, and the application of international justice mechanisms. “The Prime Minister began by emphasising Britain’s support for a free and democratic Belarus. He condemned Lukashenka’s continued attacks on democracy and the continued detention of political prisoners in the country,” the statement said.

On 3 June , the Special Envoy of the US President John Coale commented on the statement made by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who said that, according to the available information, about 800 political prisoners remain behind bars, although the real number may be much higher because people continue to be systematically detained, and not everyone reports to human rights defenders because of the fear. “We’re not done yet. Don’t lose hope!” he wrote on Twitter.

On 3 June, the Cabinet of Ministers of Lithuania decided to allocate 45,400 Euro to the Ministry of Justice to pay for legal services to represent Lithuania’s interests in the interstate dispute against Belarus on the smuggling of migrants. Last year, Lithuania submitted a complaint to the International Court of Justice in the Hague in connection with the migration crisis instumentalised by the Belarusian regime. In its appeal to the Court, Lithuania accused Minsk of violating the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, which supplements the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Vilnius demanded damages from Minsk in the amount of more than 200 million Euro. In the lawsuit, Lithuania claims that such damage in the period from 2021 to 2023 was caused by forced investments in the construction of a physical barrier, strengthening border surveillance systems and deploying more personnel at the border “than ever before,” which resulted from the actions of Belarus. The influx of migrants from Belarus to the eastern European Union countries began in 2021 and represents an instrumentalisation of illegal migration in response to Europe’s unwillingness to recognise the results of the election orchestrated by the Lukashenka regime in 2020.

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Best regards, iSANS team