Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, the President, has been moving closer to Russia amid crippling Western sanction over his crackdown against domestic protests. He said that he was confident that Belarusians would support a series of constitutional amendments that would allow for him to remain in power until 2035.
The amended main law also removes Belarus’ neutrality, opening the door to stronger military cooperation. Russia deployed troops to Belarusian territory in the pretext that they were conducting military drills, and then sent them into Ukraine as part the invasion that began on Thursday.
Some of these forces quickly closed in on Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, which is located 75 km (less than 50 mi) south of the border.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian President, rebuked Belarusians in a video message Sunday. He said that the Russians were using their country as a staging area for an invasion. The attack is unprecedented since World War II, when Ukraine and Belarus faced Nazi invasions as part of the Soviet Union.
“But you’re not on the same side as us in the war which is ongoing now,” Zelenskyy stated in Russian, widely spoken in Belarus. “The Russian military launches missiles at Ukraine from your territory. They are targeting our children from your territory, kiling them and trying to destroy everything that has been constructed over the past decades.
The leader of Ukraine asked how Belarusians would be able to “look into the eyes your children, and into each other’s eyes.”
“We are your neighbours.” He said, “Be Belarus, not Russia!”
The Belarusian leader immediately retorted, calling the Ukrainian president a puppet of America and claiming that the Russian attack was caused by Zelenskyy’s refusal to accept Russian President Vladimir Putin’s request for Ukraine to renounce its bid for NATO membership.
The West responded to the invasion of Russian troops in Belarus by placing tough sanctions on Russia.
Lukashenko warned Sunday that additional sanctions from the West were “pushing the world towards the brink” of World War III.
According to the Belarusian leader, he previously stated that his country could host Russian nukes. He also said in a Saturday call that he had warned French President Emmanuel Macron that he would make the move if the U.S. or its allies deployed nuclear weapons to NATO member Poland and Lithuania.
He stated that “We have created plans to defend Belarus and agreed to deploy such weapons here that Poles and Lithuanians will lose any desire for war”
The constitutional amendments restore limits on presidential terms that were abolished under Lukashenko’s tenure. This allows a president to serve only two five-year terms. The restriction will not take effect until a “newly elected President” takes office. This gives Lukashenko the opportunity to run for two additional terms once his current term expires in 2025.
Stanislav Suskevich, Belarus’ first post-Soviet leader said that the pseudo referendum was being held under Russian gun barrels. He also claimed that the Russian military, which has been in Belarus for a while, is effectively controlling the proceedings.
“The absurdity of what is happening now directly contradicts main law which envisages Belarus’ neutrality.”
Shushkevich stated that “Lukashenko deprives Belarus of its future” and that the country is being used as a stage for Putin’s mad plans. He also said that “the Belarusian leader is not in control, he is also a pariah.”
To survive the worst and longest wave of protests in Ukraine’s history, Lukashenko rely on Moscow’s support for 2020. The largest demonstrations, which attracted up to 200,000 people in total, were triggered when Lukashenko won a sixth term as president in an August 2020 election that was denounced by the West and opposition as rigged.
Protesters calling for a new election and the ouster of Lukashenko faced a brutal crackdown by authorities. More than 35,000 were arrested and many were brutally beaten. Thousands of Belarusians were also affected by the clampdown.
The opposition called the vote a “farce” but said it would not recognize its results.
Tsikhanouskaya stated to the AP that Belarusians were being given a choice between Lukashenko or Lukashenko. “Belarusians want to change, but the harsh large-scale repressions made it impossible for many to speak out.”
She stated that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is widely opposed by Belarusians.
