As a key NATO ally that shares a 332-mile border with Ukraine, Poland has been quietly bracing for the worst. After the closure comes into force, only two of six major land crossing points along the two countries' 400-km (250- mile) border will be open, the border force said. Many of those trying to enter Poland want to travel on to Germany. [Treason trial is 'Lukashenko's revenge', says Belarus opposition leader Tsikhanouskaya]. The United States, in turn, leads the enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group in Poland and deploys a rotational Armored Brigade Combat Team there, with approximately 10,000 troops stationed in Poland. We dont want to take attention from Ukraine, because there will be no free Belarus without a free Ukraine, but also vice versa there will be no peace in our region while Lukashenko is there., Belarus's president Alexander Lukashenko has strong ties with Russian president Vladimir Putin. Nonetheless, Belarus is interpreting the rotational presence as a provocation, falling in line with Russia's claims that NATO has long been provoking Moscow. An investigation into that incident revealed it was a Ukrainian air defense missile that had been fired to defend against a Russian attack. E.U. The Belarusian Foreign Ministry could not immediately be reached for comment on Monday about the latest moves. All Rights Reserved. Ramzan Kadyrov, a key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has begun rattling off threats about attacking Poland after Ukraine. Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the worlds largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. And those foreign scum, who are now trying to blow us up from the inside and from the outside, have to understand it. Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology. But first there is Tuesdays award ceremony in Tipperary, which Ms Tsikhanouskaya hopes will be attended by the Deane family who hosted her for holidays in Roscrea. Lukashenko is giving our independence away, piece by piece, every day. Warsaw will melt and Vilnius will drown. Any ceasefire will mean [the Russian Federations] right to stay in the occupied territories. [8], After the forceful suppression of Belarusian protests, the main opposition challenger Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya fled the country to Poland, then to Lithuania. And so we demonstrate the combat readiness of the Polish military.. [citation needed]. Rights groups say the Lukashenko regime is holding about 1,500 political prisoners, including Ms Tsikhanouskayas husband Syarhei Tsikhanouski, whom she replaced on the ballot paper for the 2020 vote when he was detained on politically motivated charges. How the war split the mafia | The Economist Belarus' KGB claims US "may invade Belarus from Poland" - Yahoo News While the countrys military isnt directly involved in the fighting, Belarus helped Russia launch its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, allowing the Kremlins troops to enter the country from its territory. Russian president Vladimir Putin announced in March that he would station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, and Mr Lukashenko then said he would also allow Moscow to place intercontinental nuclear ballistic missiles in his country if the security situation demanded it.
