SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS FOR FEBRUARY 2026
The operations, targets, and ideological lines of Minsk’s propaganda media fall into two broad categories: the “domestic” and the “foreign” fronts.
On the “domestic front,” propaganda efforts are aimed at achieving the following goals:
- The creation and promotion of the image of Belarusian “president” Aliaksandr Lukashenka as the unifying force of the nation, a sole and irreplaceable “leader.” This approach is reflected in a constant stream of praise and flattery toward Lukashenka. In the loyal media, any criticism of the ruler’s actions is strictly prohibited.
- The creation and maintenance of Belarus’s image as a country of peace, prosperity, and unity – one that remains so no matter what, thanks to the “president’s” efforts.
- The so-called “internal enemy” – Belarusian democratic forces, Belarusians who oppose the regime, protesters, and political refugees who left the country after 2020 – is the focus of attacks and a flood of lies from propaganda channels.
On the “foreign front”:
- Reinforcing and preserving the image of Western countries and the “collective West” as a whole as the primary foreign policy enemy, which, according to propaganda, dreams of seizing, destroying, or weakening Belarus and its alliance with Russia. In this context, everything the West does is seen as a threat to Belarus or is viewed negatively in other ways.
- The core of anti-Western discourse is an anti-European narrative. The main efforts to discredit these countries in the eyes of the Belarusian audience are directed against Poland and the Baltic states (especially Lithuania).
Belarusian propaganda’s involvement in Russia’s hybrid war against Ukraine can be considered a separate issue. However, this situation is not so simple. The Belarusian government, which is completely dependent on Russia, is in fact forced to play by the Kremlin’s rules in its bloody aggression against its neighbor. Before the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, it actually became an accomplice to Putin’s crimes by providing Russian troops with a bridgehead for the offensive from the territory of Belarus, as well as military infrastructure, weapons, and hospitals.
For their part, the state-controlled media were creating a negative image of Ukraine, denying its right to statehood and independence, inciting hatred against Ukrainians, justifying and explaining the necessity of the war – in other words, they were in fact participating in the unleashing of military aggression alongside the pro-Kremlin media.
As several years passed and against the background of the Russian army’s growing failures in Ukraine, the mood began to shift. Pro-government commentators (and above all Lukashenka himself, who is the main source of ideological narratives) are increasingly making conciliatory and even friendly statements toward Ukrainians, calling for an end to the war and a transition to peace talks. It is claimed that Belarus should once again serve as the venue for these talks, as it did during the Minsk agreements. A flow of lies and insults directed at Ukraine continues to pour out of propaganda channels, and the media still shifts all responsibility for the continuation of the war onto Ukraine. However, calls for peace and demands to end the war are increasingly heard on local channels. Unfortunately, these demands so far apply only to Ukraine and its leadership, and not to Putin or Russia.
In the second half of February, the situation in the Middle East, particularly the war waged by the U.S.-Israel coalition against Iran, was added to the main topics of discussion in Lukashenka’s propaganda.
You can read or download the whole monitoring of Belarusian propaganda on the fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine (February 2026) at this link.
Материал доступен на русском языке: «Лукашенко – единственный, кому жалко украинский народ». Основные нарративы беларусской пропаганды в феврале 2026
