Putin’s ally may face a revolt by his officers.
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko may face a revolt by his military officers after they recently voiced their opposition to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Senior officers of the fifth Special Forces brigade warned in an open letter to Lukashenko, who is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, against sending troops to fight in Ukraine, describing such a decision as ” pure suicide”.
“By going to war against Ukraine, Belarus will be expelled from the community of civilized states and will be an international outcast for many years to come,” the military officers wrote.
Belarus has allowed Russia to station its troops and conduct large-scale military exercises in the country since the start of the war, which began in late February.
Meanwhile, in May, Belarus launched large-scale exercises of its military forces to test the combat readiness of its military, according to the Belarusian defense ministry.
However, some members of the Belarusian military still denounced the war and said in a letter to Lukashenko: “Russia’s occupation of the internationally recognized territory of Ukraine, which is [a] friend of our state, and its attempt to draw Belarus into a completely unprovoked war against a sovereign state can only be seen as the destruction of the sovereignty of Belarus”.
As it turns out, Belarusians also do not support the war in Ukraine, according to a new survey published by Chatham House.
The poll found that in June only 23 percent of people supported Russia, compared to 28 percent in March.
Meanwhile, only 5 percent of the population thinks that Belarusian soldiers should join Russia to go to war, according to Rygor Astapenya, who is the director of Chatham House’s Belarus Initiative.
