Putin has an arrest warrant. What about Lukashenko and Belarus?
Destroying European country with a big help from a friend
Recently, the International Criminal Court made a historical and symbolic decision, issuing an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for the war crimes against Ukraine and its people. Apparently, Russia has been committing thousands war crimes since the full scale invasion started in Ukraine in February 2022. But somehow, the other dictator who since the beginning helps Putin to invade Ukraine, manages to avoid prosecution.
What do you know about Belarus involvement in the Ukraine’s invasion, and its president Aleksandr Lukashenko?
Photo: Official website of the President of Belarus
Aleksandr Lukashenko became a President of Belarus in 1994, and in 2004, he changed the Constitution, allowing the president to be elected as many times as he wants. So, Lukashenko has been sitting in the president’s chair for 29 years so far. In 2020, there were huge protests against him in the country. He put the opposition leaders behind bars, but even though they ended up in prison, the elections showed that people wanted a new president. Then, repressions began – and thousands fled Belarus to avoid prison and tortures. Many young Belarussian activists and journalists were sentenced to 10-15 years.
Then, Russia attacked Ukraine from the South, the East and the North. The President of Belarus claimed that Russia “never asked [him] to attack Ukraine.” However, you probably remember his words at the beginning of the invasion that “an attack had been prepared on Belarus” and “if a preemptive strike had not been launched six hours before […] they [Ukrainians] would have attacked our troops.” At the time, the Belarusian dictator effectively admitted that his country had joined in on the attack on its neighbor — and repeated it almost in the same words during a press conference a year after the invasion, answering the BBC’s correspondent Steven Rosenberg’s question about Belarus’ role in the war.
In addition, the intelligence and independent organizations regularly warn of a possible new “full-scale attack” by Belarus and the possible inclusion of Belarusian troops in a ground operation. However, the military of Belarus have been participating in the invasion from its very beginning — and not only by sending planes with missiles from the airfield in Machulyshchy near Minsk or by providing the Russian army with barracks, hospitals, and other infrastructure.
I’ve spent some time along with my colleague and partner Roman Stepanovych investigating the role of Belarussian soldiers in the invasion of Ukraine. We spoke with tens of people who witnessed exactly Belarussians along with Russian invaders during the occupation in Chernihiv region (border area with Belarus) in February-March 2022.
For instance, employees of the Vyshneve village council confirmed that, besides the Russian occupiers, the Belarusian military was present in the village. However, according to their observations, the Belarusians did not participate in the repressions but, most likely, "monitored public order" and collected information about residents. A similar situation existed in other villages in the region. Several groups of the Belarusian military were based there. Due to the local residents, their tasks included the maintenance and patrolling of the settlement while the Russian troops broke through to Chernihiv. According to one of the locals who communicated with Belarussians, they "didn't do anything special [like fighting or interrogating people]," – just helping Russian soldiers.
I recommend you to read the full article with many interesting findings here. (There will be a video version in English as well).
Aleksandr Lukashenko tries to convince the world that his country is not an invader. Claiming that he is just “helping” Russia to commit war crimes and destroy Ukrainian cities, he transfer full responsibility to his "big brother," who has been continuing the genocide of Ukrainians for more than a year. At the same time, this “help” is crucial for Russia, because without it, Russia would never be able to do as many crimes as it did and continues doing in Ukraine.
Whether Belarus is an accomplice, aggressor, or victim remains an important question from an ethical and geopolitical perspective. The answer to this question determines not only the outcome of the trial of the occupiers, but also the security of the borders in the near future.
Any questions or comments?
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Katerina Sergatskova
Good article. I saw only one typo. ;)
I see Lukashenko as a certain accomplice to Russian aggression. As Belarus (Lukashenko and his military junta) are facilitating strikes on civilian ragets in Ukraine that inductively makes him an accomplice to war crimes.
After Putin falls, who could say how long it will be before Lukashenko. My guess is Lukashenko's empire would crumble in weeks or days. Maybe the same with Bashar Assad.