WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Belarus’ opposition leader said Wednesday that she believes Russian military setbacks in Ukraine could shake the hold on power of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
“We now have a distracted Russia that’s about to lose this war. It won’t have the ability to prop Lukashenko up with money and military support as in 2020,” said Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, speaking at a security conference in Warsaw.
Tsikhanouskaya fled to Lithuania after Russian ally Alexander Lukashenko claimed victory in disputed August 2020 elections that were viewed within the West as fraudulent, and which many thought she won.
She said that lots of of Belarusian volunteers have supported Ukrainians of their recent liberation of Ukrainian territory.
“As I speak, a Belarusian battalion is a component of Ukraine’s counter-offensive chasing the invaders away. All of us understand that the speed of changes on the Ukrainian front opens latest opportunities for Belarus. And it’s moving so fast,” she said on the Warsaw Security Forum.
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“We keep our fingers crossed for our military volunteers in Ukraine. Fifteen lost their lives already.” she said.
Russia is facing mounting setbacks in Ukraine as Ukrainian forces retake an increasing number of land within the east and within the south — the very regions Russia has said it seeks to annex.
Tsikhanouskaya hailed the Belarusian partisans who carried out acts of sabotage early within the war on the railway system in Belarus to hamper the Russians of their assault on Ukraine, and said Belarusians would proceed to oppose the war as they will.
“We’re preparing our partisans, you understand, to act decisively at this very moment. The acts of sabotage that took place in February and March could be repeated again, though people who find themselves making these acts of sabotage can face death penalty,” she said.
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