Alexander Lukashenko

Ukraine recap: prospect of renewed US funding a boost for beleaguered Zelensky

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, February 15, 2024

We had just published a piece by two security analysts from the Paris-based research university Sciences Po, who had outlined three possible scenarios for the 12 months ahead.

Key Points: 
  • We had just published a piece by two security analysts from the Paris-based research university Sciences Po, who had outlined three possible scenarios for the 12 months ahead.
  • The first two options were major military setbacks for Russia or Ukraine, with major losses of troops and territory.
  • Months of bitter, attritional fighting resulted in few Ukrainian gains at a significant cost in terms of both manpower and precious materiel.
  • But, as Stefan Wolff and Tetyana Malyarenko point out, Syrskyi is also associated with the defence of Bakhmut, a battle that consumed so many lives on either side.
  • But fresh supplies of weapons and ammunition from the EU and the US began to dry up in 2023, seriously hamstringing the Ukraine army’s ability to gain the initiative on the battlefield.
  • You can also subscribe to our fortnightly recap of expert analysis of the conflict in Ukraine.
  • After months of bitter debate the bill finally passed the senate this week.
  • Read more:
    Ukraine war: what the US public thinks about giving military and other aid

Friends and enemies

  • One of Trump’s greatest allies in the media, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, sat down with Putin for a two-hour interview last week.
  • Inderjeet Parmar, an expert in US politics at City, University of London, watched the interview and gives us his verdict.
  • He concludes: “Putin’s early history of Ukraine is part of a Russian imperialist story that has been told for centuries.
  • He says more than 7,000 criminal cases have been opened accusing Ukrainians of giving aid to the enemy.
  • Others are less so: people who continued to do their jobs after their town was occupied: local government officials, garbage collectors and the like.

Ukraine war: why propaganda doesn’t work as well in Belarus as it does in Russia

Retrieved on: 
Friday, February 9, 2024

In contrast, Belarusian people are far more wary of being drawn into the conflict.

Key Points: 
  • In contrast, Belarusian people are far more wary of being drawn into the conflict.
  • Additionally, a surprisingly low number of Belarusians (26%) said they would feel negatively if Belarusian soldiers refused to fight or follow orders.
  • Meanwhile, the country’s president, Alexander Lukashenko, has allowed Russian troops to pass through his territory to invade Ukraine, and supported Putin’s invasion.

Why Belarus is different

  • For the most part, the majority of urban Belarusians surveyed want Belarus to distance itself from the war and express neutrality.
  • In contrast to Russians, Belarusian society considers the war senseless and harmful to Belarus.

Russian propaganda wins

  • In stark comparison to Belarus, Russia has developed a successful propaganda machine that is entertaining, confusing and overwhelming.
  • Flooding citizens with information that demonises its opponents is a key component to Russia’s propaganda strategy.
  • Russian propaganda uses a large number of channels and constantly disseminates falsehoods at high volume and speed.
  • This onslaught of propaganda makes it even harder for its citizens to discern what is false and what is the truth.
  • Research has suggested that Putin’s propaganda has elicited strong support for a military invasion among Russians, and that the Russian public’s preferences for using military force were easily manipulated.


Natasha Lindstaedt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Press release - Human rights breaches in Belarus, Iran and Nigeria

Retrieved on: 
Friday, February 9, 2024

On Thursday, the European Parliament adopted three resolutions on human rights issues in Belarus, Iran and Nigeria.Subcommittee on Human Rights Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

Key Points: 


On Thursday, the European Parliament adopted three resolutions on human rights issues in Belarus, Iran and Nigeria.Subcommittee on Human Rights Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

Ukraine recap: counter-offensive gathers pace while Wagner Group takes on new role

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, August 3, 2023

Reports from the front lines of the various conflict zones reveal daily just how difficult Ukraine is finding its summer counter-offensive.

Key Points: 
  • Reports from the front lines of the various conflict zones reveal daily just how difficult Ukraine is finding its summer counter-offensive.
  • “The number of mines on the territory that our troops have retaken is utterly mad,” he told Ukrainian television this week.
  • Read more:
    Ukraine war: after two months of slow progress the long-awaited counteroffensive is picking up speed.

The trouble with the Wagner Group

    • This is a 60-mile stretch of Polish territory on its border with Lithuania, linking Belarus with the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.
    • Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko mischievously quipped to Vladimir Putin that he might not be able to control the Wagner mercenaries who, he said, were itching to “go west”.
    • Natasha Lindstaedt, professor of international relations at the University of Essex with a special interest in non-state paramilitary groups, says that while Lukashenko was clearly joking, mercenary companies such as the Wagner Group are notoriously difficult to control.
    • Read more:
      Wagner Group boss and Belarus's president are still manoeuvring for power

Scramble for Africa

    • But what Putin may not be able to achieve through diplomacy in terms of influence in Africa, Russia’s Wagner Group proxies appear to be securing by propping up unstable regimes (and destabilising others) across west Africa.
    • Read more:
      Russia-Africa summit: Putin offers unconvincing giveaways in a desperate bid to make up for killing the Ukraine grain deal

Crimean Tatars’ guerrilla war

    • Another important non-state group that is playing an increasingly prominent role in the war – this time on Ukraine’s side – are the Crimean Tatars.
    • It is waging what appears to be a highly effective guerrilla campaign, disrupting logistics, sabotaging key targets and stoking discontent against – and within – the Russian army.
    • Read more:
      Crimean bridge attack is another blow to Putin's strongman image

Russians on the home front

    • Matveeva has spoken with ordinary Russians who either donate funds or run grassroots campaigns to provide everything from stretchers and medical supplies to drones and other weaponry to help fill perceived shortfalls.
    • But there’s a sense that by helping the men at the front, it could reduce the prospect that their own sons might be called up.
    • Read more:
      Ukraine war: how Russians are rallying on the home front to support 'their boys'

Nato matters

Ukraine war: 'joke' about Wagner Group invading Poland highlights regional security fears of rogue mercenaries

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, July 25, 2023

While Lukashenko may not have been being totally serious about a possible mercenary excursion into Warsaw, the presence of Russian Wagner Group troops in neighbouring Belarus is problematic for a number of reasons.

Key Points: 
  • While Lukashenko may not have been being totally serious about a possible mercenary excursion into Warsaw, the presence of Russian Wagner Group troops in neighbouring Belarus is problematic for a number of reasons.
  • The first issue is that it’s not clear how effectively Belarus will be able to control the Wagner Group.
  • Read more:
    Ukraine war: Wagner Group boss and Belarus's president are still manoeuvring for power

    The Wagner Group was given the impression that Moscow was unable to stop it, and Russian forces were essentially paralysed.

  • Though Lukashenko has claimed that he has the Wagner Group under control, it is the Wagner fighters that have been training Belarusian special forces near the border with Poland, not the other way around.

Stirring the pot

    • Lukashenko’s recent quips appear mostly to be an attempt to maintain attention and position.
    • The Belarus president has revelled in being at the centre of world events, after he brokered the Wagner Group deal.
    • Lukashenko also appears to relish being Putin’s sounding board and enjoys having the Russian president’s ear.

Moscow-Minsk axis

    • It pocketed US$1.7 billion (£1.32 billion) last year by selling on Russian crude oil to other countries.
    • Attempts in 2014 and 2015 to hold talks in Minsk with Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France to alleviate tensions also failed.
    • And the vast majority of people in Belarus do not want their country to get directly involved in the war against Ukraine.
    • And now Lukashenko has 8,000 mercenary troops that he might not be able to control.

High risk

    • An expansion of the war into another country would strain Russia even further at a time when its armed forces have already lost at least 15 generals in the conflict, and about 47,000 soldiers, according to recent modelling by independent Russian media outlets Meduza and Mediazona.
    • In any event, both Putin and Lukashenko are taking on huge risks with their dealings with mercenaries – something that will not only make their own countries more insecure but could also have dire consequences for regional security.

Press release - Parliament slams repression and show trials in Belarus

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, March 15, 2023

On Wednesday, Parliament adopted a resolution condemning the Belarusian regime’s continued systematic repression of the country’s people and dissenting voices, including through politically motivated and closed-door show trials, which MEPs slam as grave human rights violations.

Key Points: 
  • On Wednesday, Parliament adopted a resolution condemning the Belarusian regime’s continued systematic repression of the country’s people and dissenting voices, including through politically motivated and closed-door show trials, which MEPs slam as grave human rights violations.
  • Parliament firmly denounces the recent sentencing to long jail terms of journalist Andrzej Poczobut and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialatski, as well as several other people.
  • These convictions show the regime’s efforts to suppress all civic engagement in defence of human rights and all independent media in the country.
  • Belarus as an accomplice in Russia’s aggression against Ukraine
    Calling for all those unjustly jailed to be freed and compensated, Parliament reiterates its strong condemnation of Belarus’ involvement in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

G7 Leaders' Statement

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, October 11, 2022

We, the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7), convened today with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Key Points: 
  • We, the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7), convened today with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
  • The G7 firmly condemn and unequivocally reject the illegal attempted annexation by Russia of Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions in addition to the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol.
  • In solidarity with Ukraine, the G7 Leaders welcome President Zelenskyy's readiness for a just peace.
  • We will act in solidarity and close coordination to address the negative impact of Russia's aggression for global economic stability, including by continuing to cooperate to ensure energy security and affordability across the G7 and beyond.

G7 Leaders' Statement

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, March 24, 2022

BRUSSELS, March 24, 2022 /CNW/ -We, the Leaders of the G7, met today in Brussels at the invitation of the German G7 Presidency, to further strengthen our cooperation in light of Russia's unjustifiable, unprovoked and illegal aggression and President Putin's war of choice against independent and sovereign Ukraine.

Key Points: 
  • BRUSSELS, March 24, 2022 /CNW/ -We, the Leaders of the G7, met today in Brussels at the invitation of the German G7 Presidency, to further strengthen our cooperation in light of Russia's unjustifiable, unprovoked and illegal aggression and President Putin's war of choice against independent and sovereign Ukraine.
  • The siege of Mariupol and other Ukrainian cities, and the denial of humanitarian access by Russian military forces are unacceptable.
  • We further call upon the Belarusian authorities to avoid further escalation and to refrain from using their military forces against Ukraine.
  • Moreover, we urge all countries not to give military or other assistance to Russia to help continue its aggression in Ukraine.

BINANCE TO DONATE US$10 MILLION TO UKRAINE HUMANITARIAN EFFORT

Retrieved on: 
Sunday, February 27, 2022

KYIV, Ukraine, Feb. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Binance, the world's leading crypto and blockchain infrastructure provider, has committed US$10 million minimum to help the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine through its Binance Charity Foundation. The donation will be split between major intergovernmental organizations and nonprofit organizations already on the ground, including UNICEF, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, iSans and People in Need, to help support displaced children and families in Ukraine and its neighboring countries.

Key Points: 
  • KYIV, Ukraine, Feb. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --Binance, the world's leading crypto and blockchain infrastructure provider, has committed US$10 million minimum to help the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine through itsBinance Charity Foundation.
  • A donation of 16,042 BNB, with the equivalent value of US$6 million,has already been made by Binance.
  • CZ, Founder and CEO of Binance, said:"Watching this conflict escalate over the past four days has shocked our community to its core.
  • Since its inception in 2018, Binance Charity has donated $10 million USD to support projects helping in the wake of global disasters and to tackle complex social and environmental issues.