Belarus is quickly turning into a Russian “Vassal State“
Belarus is quickly turning into a Russian “Vassal State”
According to military experts and pro-democracy groups, allowing Moscow to station tactical nuclear weapons on its territory is simply the most recent example of the country ceding sovereignty to the Kremlin.
In addition to teaching pupils how to build guns and teaching them patriotic themes, textbooks have been revised to support Russia’s version of history. For the soldiers fighting in Ukraine, factories make their outfits. Children from the occupied territories of Ukraine are hosted at summer camps managed by state-owned corporations.
These scenes, which are by this point well-known, barely need attention in a Russia at war, save that they were just taken from Belarus, an autocratic nation of 9.4 million people that borders Russia, Ukraine, and the NATO members Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia. Belarus, which has long felt uncomfortable being a part of Russian President Vladimir V. Putin’s orbit, is increasingly obedient to him on the social, military, and economic fronts.
Belarus’s alleged decision to permit Moscow to place tactical nuclear weapons on its territory and equip its bombers with nuclear bombs is the most recent example of Belarus’s loyalty to Moscow and the threat it poses to the West. It is also a significant step towards Russia absorbing Belarus, a goal of Mr. Putin’s for a long time, according to proponents of democracy and military analysts.
“Belarus’ sovereignty is evaporating very fast,” said Pavel Slunkin, a former diplomat from Belarus who is currently a fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Any field you choose, Russian influence is getting bigger and bigger.
This is not how it always was. Aleksandr G. Lukashenko, the authoritarian leader of the nation during the post-Cold War era, played a cunning game, pledging allegiance to Moscow and upholding the Soviet slogans of “brotherhood and unity,” all the while making sure that relations with Moscow never became too close to endanger his hold on power. Even Western countries keen to bring Belarus closer to Europe economically were occasionally approached by him.After Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, that arrangement started to fall apart, giving Mr. Lukashenko the unsettling notion that Belarus might also be absorbed by its larger neighbour. By openly discussing the two states joining together politically, Mr. Putin increased those anxieties.
However, everything completely fell apart in 2020 when Mr. Lukashenko repressed tens of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators, turning him into an outcast on the global stage. In that crucial juncture, Mr. Putin intervened, offering cheap energy, a lifeline for the economy, and an implied promise of security help should it be required.
Since Belarus is practically a dependency of Russia, Mr. Lukashenko has emerged as a key accomplice in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, limiting himself to providing his own forces for the conflict.
Pavel Latushka, a former diplomat and minister in Belarus who later became a dissident, has provided proof that Belarus is involved in the eviction of Ukrainian children from territory that is held by Russia. In March, arrest warrants were issued for Mr. Putin and his commissioner for children’s rights by the International Criminal Court on charges that they had sent thousands of Ukrainian youngsters to Russia.
Mr. Latushka provided the names and information of about a dozen youngsters from the Russian-occupied Ukraine who were taken to camps in Belarus to Ukrainian prosecutors in late May. He said in an interview that as of last month, 2,150 Ukrainian youngsters had been sent to at least three camps in Belarus managed by state-owned businesses, including the potash company Belaruskali.
After Mr. Lukashenko violently put down the pro-democracy protesters, Belaruskali was subject to EU and US sanctions. Prosecutors in Ukraine have acknowledged that they are looking into Mr. Latushka’s allegations.
The relocation of Ukrainian children that has taken place was authorised by documents signed under the aegis of the “Union State,” a nebulous alliance of Russia and Belarus, according to Mr. Latushka.
