Tag Archives: Alexander Lukashenko

Reuters reports: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Friday that his military’s SU-24 warplanes had been modified to carry nuclear weapons and that Minsk would react immediately if the West caused it any problems. Lukashenko said he had agreed the move to modernise Belarusian warplanes with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Belta news agency reported. Belarus, a staunch Russian ally, …

Reuters reports: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Monday he was concerned about what he called moves by the West to “dismember” Ukraine, and accused Poland of seeking to seize the Western part of the country. He offered no evidence for his assertions. “What worries us is that they are ready, the Poles and NATO, to come out, to help …

Reuters reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin is healthy, sane and “in better shape than ever”, his close ally Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has said in an interview with the Japanese television channel TBS. “He and I haven’t only met as heads of state, we’re on friendly terms,” Lukashenko said in a recording of the interview. “I’m absolutely privy to all …

The Daily Beast reports: The Putin-backed president of Belarus has warned that World War III could be about to begin as he reportedly prepares his troops to assist with Russia’s mass-scale invasion of Ukraine. President Alexander Lukashenko warned that the crisis in Ukraine could spark a global conflict, writing in a statement: “Russia is being pushed towards a third world …

Politico Europe reports: Russia has sent thousands of troops into Belarus, but the country’s authoritarian leader said Friday there will only be war if “aggression is committed against Belarus” or “our ally Russia.” “If our country faces an aggression, there will be hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers here, who will defend this sacred land together with hundreds of thousands …

The Washington Post reports: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko opened another potential front against Europe on Thursday, threatening to choke off gas supplies amid a deepening crisis that has brought migrants surging to E.U. borders and Western leaders planning to retaliate with more sanctions. Lukashenko’s warning jolted energy markets and further suggested his authoritarian regime still had the backing of its …

The New York Times reports: An opposition activist in Belarus stabbed himself in the throat with a pen during a court hearing on Tuesday after claiming that investigators had threatened to prosecute his family and neighbors if he did not plead guilty. A video clip recorded just after the stabbing showed the activist, Stepan Latypov, lying on a bench inside …

Deutsche Welle reports: Belarus’ border security agency on Monday announced a severe tightening of already strict rules limiting citizens’ ability to exit the country. Citizens have fled the country since Alexander Lukashenko was declared the winner of a disputed presidential election last August and mass protests over election rigging were met with a severe crackdown. Faced with the prospect of …

Reuters reports: Turkey pushed NATO allies into watering down an official reaction to the forced landing by Belarus of a passenger plane and the detention of a dissident journalist on Sunday, two diplomats familiar with the matter told Reuters. NATO‘s 30 allies released a two-paragraph statement on Wednesday condemning the forcing down of a Ryanair flight to arrest journalist Roman …

The Associated Press reports: Belarus’ authoritarian president defended Wednesday his decision to tell a passenger jet to land in his country and accused European leaders of waging a “hybrid war” to “strangle” his nation by ordering up new sanctions for diverting the flight and arresting an opposition journalist who was aboard. Speaking before lawmakers and top officials, President Alexander Lukashenko …

The Washington Post reports: European leaders on Monday were considering a plan to sever Belarus from the rest of the continent’s airspace, a day after Belarusian authorities forced a commercial airliner to land and arrested a dissident journalist who had been flying from Athens to Lithuania. Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said that AirBaltic, a major airline in the region, …

Deutsche Welle reports: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko today accused NATO of deploying tanks and planes to Belarus’ western border, a claim the military alliance rejected. Speaking at a rally of his supporters in central Minsk, the 65-year-old leader dismissed opposition calls for a new election and urged Belarusians to defend their country. “I called you here not to defend me, …

Reuters reports: Russia said on Sunday it had told Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko it was ready to offer military assistance if necessary as demonstrators held one of the biggest protests yet against Lukashenko’s contested re-election. The protest in Minsk attracted tens of thousands of people, despite the deaths of at least two protesters and thousands of detentions since last Sunday’s …

Reuters reports: Authorities in Belarus on Saturday detained Maria Kolesnikova, a prominent member of the opposition campaign challenging President Alexander Lukashenko in a presidential election, the campaign team said. Human rights groups say more than 1,300 people have been detained in a crackdown ahead of Sunday’s election in an attempt to clamp down on street protests that pose the biggest …