iSANS is an international expert initiative aimed at identifying, analyzing, and countering hybrid threats to democracy, the rule of law, and state sovereignty in Western, Central, and Eastern Europe and Eurasia. Documenting and analyzing pro-Kremlin propaganda narratives in Russia and Belarus is one of our most important areas of activity.
Since August 2020, iSANS has been analyzing strategies aimed at suppressing the democratic movement, civil society, and protests in Belarus. Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, media monitoring has also covered statements demonstrating the participation of Belarusian pro-government channels in Russia’s information war against Ukraine.
In 2025, a major report was published on calls for genocide against the Ukrainian people in Russian and Belarusian propaganda. The report was presented to international and national investigative bodies, including the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.
Monitoring pro-government media not only helps us understand the mechanisms of propaganda media’s influence, but also enables the early detection of threats from authoritarian regimes, forecasting their actions, and identifying and analyzing future political trends.
Lukashenko regime ideological narratives in the II quarter of 2026
By mid-2026, the subject of Ukraine gradually became central not only to Russian but also to Belarusian propaganda. This has been facilitated by significant changes in the course of the war. The advance of Russian troops on the front has been virtually halted, while Ukrainian drones and missiles are delivering effective strikes deep into the country against Russian infrastructure, supply routes, oil refineries, and military facilities. Ukraine feels stronger, acquiring and developing new types of weapons, and its president is now dictating terms and issuing ultimatums.
Meanwhile, the Russian economy is beginning to experience serious difficulties. The budget deficit is growing, labor shortages are rife, and in June the country was hit by a severe fuel crisis caused by the shutdown and unscheduled repairs of refineries hit by drones.
The changes on the front line have also led to changes in propaganda rhetoric. While in April and May, Belarusian media were still calling Ukraine a terrorist state and calling for new attacks, in June the approach shifted to a more peaceful one. Minsk increasingly spoke of the “neighborly and friendly” Ukrainian people, the need for peace talks, and an end to the war.
It has reached the point where Belarusian “President” Alexander Lukashenko – who back in April mercilessly criticized Volodymyr Zelenskyy for his naivety, accused him of drug addiction, and called for an end to resistance and an urgent peace with Moscow – is now justifying himself, defending himself, and apologizing to the Ukrainian president for his earlier insults.
Propagandists’ statements are increasingly less aggressive toward Ukrainians and more focused on the idea that “it’s time to negotiate.” Following their boss, they insist that Belarus is a neutral, peaceful country that no one will be able to “drag into war.”
Nevertheless, while Ukrainian narratives are undergoing a transformation, other narratives remain persistent. Belarus’s main enemies are still considered to be citizens who disagree with the regime, along with the “collective West.” It is precisely these two targets that are currently the main focus of the lies, malice, and aggression of Belarusian propagandists.
Lukashenko, as before, remains above criticism as the “only president,” the demiurge of modern Belarus, and an almost godlike figure who knows the answers to every question, from the deployment of nuclear weapons to the upkeep of a farmer’s barn. The glorification of the Belarusian ruler is reminiscent of the personality cult of Joseph Stalin in the USSR.
All this is covered in the latest three-month report on the results of iSANS media monitoring of Belarusian disinformation and propaganda.
Key findings, in brief
- Propaganda media continue to strengthen the personalized form of power based on the personality cult of its leader, Alexander Lukashenko.
- Soviet elements are being used to strengthen social cohesion, including holidays dating back to the Soviet era, exploiting nostalgic feelings for the USSR, and unofficial re-Stalinization.
- In April and June, Lukashenko gave two extensive interviews to major foreign media outlets. In our opinion, the dictator’s interviews with international media contribute to the legitimization and justification of the regime.
- The image of Belarus as a peaceful, neutral, and prosperous country is often expressed, despite the obvious incongruity with the reality of bellicose rhetoric, aggression toward Ukraine and the West and the militarization of the country.
- According to propaganda media, the main threats to the regime continue to be civil society, the democratic opposition, protestors, and political exiles. Propaganda media attempt to mobilize society through hatred of the “fugitives.”
- Rhetoric toward Ukraine is gradually changing. While anti-Ukrainian statements were more prevalent in April, by June their number had decreased, gradually giving way to more “conciliatory” statements.
- Ukraine is the most frequently mentioned topic in Belarusian propaganda. This is due obviously to Ukraine’s successes on the front lines and its effective strikes deep into Russian territory.
- Belarusian propagandists have attempted to overlook or “not notice” these effective strikes against Russian businesses, oil refineries, and supply routes. There were very few mentions of the strikes against Moscow over the reporting period.
- At the same time, they happily fanned the historical conflict between Ukraine and Poland that erupted in late May.
- The “collective West” remains the “primary external threat.” The main propaganda attack is directed against Belarus’s closest western neighbors – Poland and the Baltic states.
- Propagandists repeat notions about the “peaceful nature” and neutrality of Belarus. These words contrast with reality amid the ongoing militarization of the country and the growing bellicose rhetoric of Belarusian officials.
- In May and June, Armenia made significant progress toward rapprochement with the European Union, prompting threats from pro-Kremlin propagandists.
