Putin’s Nuclear Frost

Putin's threats

Ukraine has become a real bear trap for Russia. The fierce resistance of Ukrainian defenders of the bloody invasion that Putin unleashed has the Kremlin in a spin. On Sunday, the bitterness on the Ukrainian front turned into a new round of threats, and the doomsday clock shifted again. Putin alerted Russia’s strategic missile forces…

EPP Group Attacks Belarusian Aggression

Manfred Weber

cksIn a statement today the EPP Group said, “We strongly condemn Belarusian dictator Lukashenko’s attempts to intimidate the European Union.” It said, “By sending hundreds of illegal migrants to Europe’s external border in Lithuania, Lukashenko is de facto playing by the worst of the smugglers’ and the human traffickers’ book, proving once again that there…

Belarus Sanctions

In response to the brutality of the Belarusian authorities and in support of the democratic rights of the Belarusian people, the Council last week decided to adopt 36 additional designations. These sanctions target high-level officials responsible for the ongoing violent repression and intimidation of peaceful demonstrators, opposition members and journalists, among others. They also target economic actors, prominent businessmen and companies…

Defending Journalists

“The detention and ensuing imprisonment of Belsat Journalists Ms. Katsyaryna Andreyeva, Ms. Darya Chultsova, Mr. Dzmitry Krauchuk, Mr. Artsyom Bahaslauski and Mr. Dzmitry Soltan for exposing illegal police brutality is neither justified nor constitutional. We condemn the campaign of brutality and intimidation and demand the immediate release of illegally detained journalists.” The worsening human rights…

UK Expels Belarusian Diplomats

Following the expulsion of British diplomats in Minsk for allegedly observing street demonstrations against President Lukashenko, the Foreign Office in London yesterday expelled two Belarusian diplomats from the United Kingdom in direct retaliation for an action they condemned as unjustified. The UK Foreign Office said in a statement: “The UK government reiterates that the only…

Belarus Sanctions

EU Ministers are expected to consider new names to add to the list of sanctions on Belarus, and a new push to include disputed leader Alexander Lukashenko himself, who met with 11 jailed opposition activists on Saturday. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the exiled leader of the anti-regime protests, said the prison visit came as a “result of…

Belarus Sanctions

The European Council has today (Friday 2nd October) imposed restrictive measures against 40 individuals identified as responsible for repression and intimidation against peaceful demonstrators, opposition members and journalists in the wake of the 2020 presidential election in Belarus, as well as for misconduct of the electoral process. At present the former pPresident Alexander Lukashenko is not included in the…

Putin’s Meeting with Lukashenko

The personal meeting of the presidents of Russia and Belarus in Sochi on September 14 showed that the Russian authorities were ready to provide Lukashenko with assistance in order to rapidly replace him with a more acceptable candidate for Moscow within the framework of the “Union State of Russia and Belarus”. The only public signal…

Tikhanovskaya to Visit Brussels

Foreign Affairs Committee MEPs will discuss the dramatic developments in Belarus with opposition leader Sviatlana Tikhanovskaya on Monday, 21 September. Members of the foreign affairs committee will host Sviatlana Tikhanovskaya and other members of the Belarusian democratic opposition, Volha Kavalkova and Pavel Latushka, for a debate on the latest political developments and the popular uprising…

EP Support for the Opposition Council of Belarus

Backing Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the EPP Group joined with other political forces in the European Parliament in a virtual event with her to show their support.  The EPP Group and other MEPs have now called for an end to the crackdown by the government of Aleksander Lukashenko, who sparked more than a month…