Russian leader Vladimir Putin said on Thursday the Kremlin had created a special reserve police force to intervene in Belarus and support Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, if needed. In an interview with state-run Russia 1 TV channel, reported by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Putin stated the Kremlin is prepared to deploy those forces, but only if the situation “gets out of control.”
“We have of course certain obligations towards Belarus, and the question Lukashenko raised was whether we would provide the necessary help. I told him Russia would fulfill all its obligations. Alexander Grigorivich (Lukashenko) asked me to create a reserve police force and I have done that. But we agreed this would not be used unless the situation got out of control,” Putin said, according to Reuters.
ISW notes that “the Kremlin has supported Lukashenko with RT [Russia Today] technical personnel, information support, and potentially covert security coordination since August 19.” I earlier wrote about Russia’s possible already ongoing covert security reinforcement in Belarus. ISW has previously assessed the Kremlin is prepared to openly intervene in Belarus to support Lukashenko if he is unable to control protests.
However, writes ISW, this is the first Kremlin acknowledgment of actual preparations to intervene.
Cynically flipping the information war narrative, Lukashenko has reiterated claims that NATO is backing the protests, notes ISW, adding that “Lukashenko claimed Belarus’ neighbors are conducting a ‘hybrid war’ to overthrow him….”
Moscow has been falsely claiming foreign intervention has been ongoing in Belarus since August 19. The Kremlin previously pledged it would intervene in Belarus in response to foreign intervention.
But Putin’s remarks were the strongest signal yet that Russia is prepared to use force in Belarus, writes Reuters. Mass anti-regime demonstrations have taken place in Belarus since an August 9 election that the opposition says was rigged to prolong Lukashenko’s 26-year rule.
Belarus is Russia’s closest ally among its former Soviet colonies. Moscow and Minsk have even proclaimed a “union state,” which includes a Soviet-style red flag. With its fortified borders with NATO members, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia, Belarus is critical to Russia’s defense – serving as the only non-Russian buffer between NATO and Moscow. Putin is not ready to lose that vital strategic buffer.
ISW assesses that – “Putin is likely issuing this statement as a dual warning – both to protesters and to Lukashenko – to stabilize the situation to avoid a Russian intervention.”
Reuters notes that the West has so far acted cautiously, wary of provoking a Russian military intervention like that in neighboring Ukraine in 2014. EU foreign ministers are discussing possible sanctions against a list of 20 Belarusians blamed for electoral fraud or the abuse of protesters. But the Belarus opposition has said the EU should hold back on sanctions for now to avoid the impression of foreign intervention.
Poland, however, has taken a stronger stance and has demanded Russia drop any plans to intervene. Poland “urges Russia to immediately withdraw from plans of a military intervention in Belarus, under (the) false excuse of ‘restoring control’ – a hostile act, in breach of international law and human rights of Belarusian people, who should be free to decide their own fate,” Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in a tweet, reported by Reuters.
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Barring some particular strategic U.S. interest, this would seem to be an E.U. issue.
Russia, China and Iran want to control more land/countries.
Time for Europe to step up and defend the good and decent people of Belarus!
Sorry but this is NOT an issue that we should be concerned about
Now, That is how we should deal with these Anti-American Terrorists. Just like Putin is going to do. Why are these Terrorists being allowed to burn down our City’s and kill our United States Citizens??
We need to demand that the states support the militia, as the Second Amendment says we have a right to participate in. An armed response to a violent insurrection is the best way to restore order. Rioters should be encircled and executed. When there are no hostages, use automatic weapons and grenades against any armed barricaded criminals or terrorists. Death is the only effective cure.
Just because St Augustine called suicide a mortal sin, this gives us no right to enforce our religious based prohibition against assisted suicide of convicted criminals.
Give every inmate in every prison 6 feet of rope. It is their God given right and might significantly reduce the cost of incarceration.
If Russia sends in their forces, police or military, we should offer the Belarus people arms to fuel a rebellion. Sniper rifles would allow people to assassinate the guards and security forces, taking out the middle management that is impossible to protect. Silencers should be made readily available to anyone who has lost a friend or family member to the Russians.
The declassified 1967 improvised weapons manual should be translated into Russian and other Eastern European languages, allowing rebels the knowledge to improvise military weapons that would result in high levels of Russian casualties, possibly even creating resentment against the evil Putin in Russia.