In mid-September, just two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin startled the West by hosting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for a rare summit, he met with another autocrat who has been even more crucial to his war in Ukraine: Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko. Taking note of the new entente with Pyongyang, Lukashenko proposed that he and Putin could now join in a “three-way cooperation” pact with Kim, presumably to help Russia create a broader autocratic bulwark against the West.
With the United States and much of Europe distracted by a new war in the Middle East, the conflict in Ukraine has for the time being receded from view.… Seguir leyendo »
Belarus’s president, Aleksandr Lukashenko, is trying to get our attention. He is preening himself on the global stage, making the rounds in the media to take credit for brokering an end to the armed mutiny in Russia last weekend. Just weeks before, the Belarusian strongman proudly announced the delivery of the first Russian tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, boasting that he would not hesitate to use them.
We don’t yet know the details of the deal Mr. Lukashenko claims to have brokered. They are probably being rewritten as President Vladimir Putin of Russia shores up his position at home and the mutiny’s leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin of the Wagner private military company, weighs his options.… Seguir leyendo »
En 2022 volvió al mundo el fantasma del uso de armas nucleares en el marco de la invasión rusa de Ucrania. Desde entonces, Vladimir Putin ha blandido la espada nuclear de su país sobre Ucrania y Occidente.
Con ello, el presidente ruso trata de obligar a Ucrania a ceder a las demandas de Rusia y de disuadir a la OTAN de intervenir en el conflicto.
En un paso más allá de la amenaza, Putin anunció el pasado 25 de marzo el acuerdo con Bielorrusia para desplegar en este país armas nucleares tácticas, una nueva amenaza en la escalada de tensiones.
Ante esta situación, parece que el Tratado de No Proliferación Nuclear, un intento de salvaguardar al mundo de una catástrofe, se ve amenazado de nuevo.… Seguir leyendo »
Vladimir Putin last week gave details of Russia’s stated intent to base tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. The flurry of alarmist reporting on what this meant highlights much of what is wrong with Western responses to Russian nuclear intimidation.
How Putin’s words have been spun in the West may be a surprise to Moscow — but there’s no doubt it will be a highly gratifying one. Because Russia has already “used” nuclear weapons. It’s used them highly successfully without firing them, by trading on empty threats about potential nuclear strikes to very effectively deter the West from fully supporting Ukraine against Russia’s imperialist war.… Seguir leyendo »
Odesa is being shelled from the sea and from the territory of Russia, but people do not panic. They live almost normal lives. Like all Ukrainians, they have just celebrated grobki, or “little graves”. These are what we call the special days in spring when we honour the memory of deceased relatives and friends. At this time, all Ukraine dedicates itself to the care of graves in the cemeteries. Some people from Odesa will have removed the old foliage from the graves and also repaired monuments and fences destroyed or damaged by Russian missiles.
Many cemeteries in Ukraine have been destroyed or damaged by Russian troops, including Kyiv’s Berkovtsy Cemetery, near Tupoleva Street, where I grew up.… Seguir leyendo »
On Wednesday, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (better known as the venue for The Championships at Wimbledon) joined with the British Lawn Tennis Association in banning all Russian and Belarusian players from competing at its event — at least, according to the L.T.A.’s statement, “whilst the current situation continues in accordance with the UK Government guidance in place”. While acknowledging that “individual Russian and Belarusian players may not agree with the actions of their Governments and this is a situation beyond their control”, the statement also said “The continuing participation of Russian and Belarusian nationals at events risks providing a boost to these regimes when there is an unprecedented international effort to isolate them and sanction their actions”.… Seguir leyendo »
Without Belarus, Vladimir Putin would not have been able to launch his assault on Kyiv’s suburbs of Bucha, Irpin, Vorzel and Borodyanka – now scenes of unimaginable horror and devastation. In 2020, the president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko made a Faustian pact with Russia’s leader Putin. The latter helped Lukashenko to hold on to power in the face of peaceful mass protests. In exchange, the former allowed Belarus to be used as a launch pad for the invasion of Ukraine. In doing so, Lukashenko made himself complicit in a war of aggression, and any attacks on civilians launched from Belarusian territory.… Seguir leyendo »
Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has turned much of the world against Russia. But one country stands out for its vocal support of Moscow, and for its role as Russia’s main accomplice in the war. Belarus not only served as a staging ground for Russian troops as they prepared to invade Ukraine but allowed Russian missiles to be fired from its soil and opened its hospitals to Russian soldiers injured in combat. Now there are signs that Belarus could become directly involved in the war: Belarusian troops appear to be readying for deployment, and U.S. and NATO officials have warned that they could cross into Ukraine in a matter of days.… Seguir leyendo »
In order to help Ukraine, it’s time for the West to learn from the mistakes it made in Belarus in 2020. I feel a sense of déjà vu watching Volodymyr Zelensky desperately calling for the world’s attention. He does so even as peaceful cities are being destroyed by missiles launched from my own country, Belarus. This is only possible because when Alexander Lukashenko, a dictator who has run Belarus for more than 27 years, claimed victory over me in a rigged election in our country less than two years ago, the West did too little. Vladimir Putin props up his regime.… Seguir leyendo »
The Belarusian ruler, Alexander Lukashenko, has played a key role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He has allowed Russian convoys and troops to close in on Kyiv from Belarusian territory and provided military infrastructure, notably airbases that Russian warplanes are using to attack Ukraine. The country is being bombarded by rockets arriving from Belarusian territory.
Belarus’s dictator also provides political support for Russian aggression: Belarus voted against the resolution of the UN general assembly condemning the Russian invasion (alongside Russia, Syria, North Korea and Eritrea), and its state propaganda machine mirrors Russia’s in its justifications. Like its eastern neighbour, the Lukashenko regime is arresting and repressing those who dare protest against war.… Seguir leyendo »
En la agresión que Vladimir Putin –no Rusia– está perpetrando contra Ucrania en estas horas está pasando desapercibido el papel jugado por lo que, en Derecho Penal, se califica como el cooperador necesario en la comisión de un delito.
En el ilícito internacional de suma gravedad que viola principios estructurales recogidos en la Carta de Naciones Unidas (integridad territorial y soberanía, no injerencia en asuntos internos, prohibición de la amenaza o del uso de la fuerza, igualdad soberana de los Estados, entre otros), Ucrania está sufriendo igualmente la participación de Aleksandr Lukashenko –no de Bielorrusia– como sujeto que participa en la comisión del delito (ilícito internacional) sin ser el ejecutor directo.… Seguir leyendo »
My morning today didn't start with coffee. My husband, who works for a company in the energy sector, got a phone call from work before the sun had risen. "Russians are shelling us", he was told.
Immediately we heard distant blasts -- most probably the sound of shelling near the capital's Boryspil International Airport. More dire news followed. Russians had attacked Ukraine alongside its eastern and northern border, also from Crimea. There were airstrikes on military infrastructure near big cities, intensive fighting in eastern Ukraine.
Horrible news came from Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, where shelling had damaged a residential building. An artillery explosive also hit Uman town in central Ukraine, far from the borders and uncomfortably close to our home in Kyiv.… Seguir leyendo »
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