Oleksandr Kovalenko / Obozrevatel
On February 18, Ukraine imposed a package of sanctions against the Lukashenko regime. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky outlined several reasons for this decision, including Belarus’s complicity in organizing Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities and supplying the RF with products from the Belarusian military-industrial complex. But that is far from all.
Green Light to the Aggressor
Belarus’s participation in the war against Ukraine on Russia’s side needs no separate proof or investigation. The Lukashenko regime supported the invasion of Ukraine even before it began, by providing the territory of Belarus in 2021 for the deployment of a 40,000-strong Russian military contingent.
Any justification by the Belarusian dictator that the Russian strike group was accumulating there over the year due to joint exercises does not withstand basic criticism. In a year, forces and means of the Russian army in Belarus were three times larger than the RB ground forces.
The fact that Russia was amassing troops to strike Ukraine under the guise of exercises and Lukashenko “knew nothing” suggests either his mental deficiency or unscrupulous lying in an attempt to justify assisting the invasion.
Besides this, the Lukashenko regime has traditionally also supported other Russian operations, both informational and hybrid, aimed at the EU countries and Ukraine.
Multifunctional Lukashenko
Russia has always used the Lukashenko regime and Belarus’s territory for various provocations and special operations even before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
I think it’s important to remind of the migration terror that Russian curators of the self-proclaimed Belarusian president organized from Belarus’s territory in the summer of 2021 on the border with Lithuania and Poland. At that time, flows of illegal migrants were directed through Belarus, organized by Russian special services with the full acquiescence of the Lukashenko regime.
Russia, using a familiar hybrid warfare tactic of “we’re not there” and “it’s not us,” used illegal migrants predominantly from Syria and Iraq, as well as the territory of Belarus, to attack EU countries and NATO members, destabilizing the social and public situation. Additionally, the aggressor country attempted to create a problem on Europe’s border to divert the attention of European politicians from the Ukrainian issue, especially amidst preparations for a full-scale invasion.
Moreover, the territory of Belarus has been used for years by Russian special services for intelligence activities against neighboring EU countries, establishing spy networks, conducting informational special operations, and sabotage.
After the full-scale invasion and the failed offensive on Kyiv, Russia, although it withdrew its main forces from the territory of Belarus, continued to create tension along the border through sabotage and intelligence activities. The Belarusian information machine transformed into a branch of Russian war propaganda and, under close control from Minsk, generates hatred towards Europeans and Ukrainians in the Belarusian media space.
After the withdrawal of main Russian forces, the territory of Belarus did not become safer for Ukraine and its European neighbors. It is worth noting that after Yevgeny Prigozhin’s coup, Belarus hosted PMC “Wagner” militants for an extended period.
Belarus continues to be regarded by Russia as a platform for a future military campaign against both Ukraine and the EU.
In particular, the construction of several facilities to accommodate military personnel is being observed, which clearly exceeds the needs of the Belarusian Armed Forces, and railway logistics capabilities are expanding with the presence of Russian Railways.
And this is in addition to the reasons for imposing sanctions mentioned by the President of Ukraine, which include:
– deployment of a relay system for controlling strike drones;
– cooperation of the Belarusian military-industrial complex with Russia and the supply of products necessary for weapons production;
– deployment (or imitation of deployment) of the “Oreshnik” complex.
Lukashenko’s regime is a multifunctional tool in Russia’s hands, exerting pressure on both Ukraine and EU countries through this puppet. And this is an undeniable fact.
The time has come for this puppet to finally have its strings cut from the hands that control it. And what will happen to the puppet during the fall? That is its own problem. The main thing is that the process is supported at the international level, otherwise Belarus, unfortunately, will remain for many more years not only under the dictator’s rule but also a threat to both Ukraine and Europe.
Material prepared as part of a joint project by OBOZ.UA and the group “Information Resistance”.
