Tag Archives: Belarus

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said his country has started taking delivery of Russian tactical nuclear weapons, some of which he said were three times more powerful than the atomic bombs the US dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. The deployment is Moscow’s first move of such warheads – …

Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko called today for a “truce” in Ukraine and talks “without preconditions” between Moscow and Kyiv. “We must stop now before an escalation begins. I’ll take the risk of suggesting an end of hostilities… a declaration of a truce,” Lukashenko said during a televised state of the …

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi says the Islamic Republic has turned the threats posed by unilateral sanctions into an opportunity to make significant progress. Raeisi made the remarks during a press conference with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko after they met at the Saadabad Palace in Tehran on Monday. “Iran has …

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko insisted on Friday Minsk was not preparing to enter the Ukraine conflict, during a visit to inspect drones at a military center in the west of the country. The leader, a close ally of Russia’s Vladimir Putin, was shown Belarus-made drones, which he said had the …

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Friday he had placed his country in what he called a state of heightened terrorism alert because of tensions on its borders. Lukashenko linked the move to his announcement on Monday that he had ordered Belarusian troops to deploy with Russian forces near Belarus’s …

Polish citizens in Belarus should leave the country, Warsaw said on Monday, as relations between the two countries become increasingly tense in part due to the war in Ukraine. The advice follows a similar recommendation given in September to Poles in Russia, a close ally of Belarus. “We recommend that …

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday that Moscow had agreed to help Minsk produce missiles, including one similar to Russia’s Iskander, as it looks to beef up its military capabilities, the state-run Belta news agency reported. Lukashenko told a meeting of defense officials that events in Ukraine had demonstrated …

Iraq has repatriated almost 4,000 of its citizens stuck on the Belarus borders with European Union members Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia in recent weeks, Iraq’s foreign minister said Sunday. Since November 18, the Iraqi government has organized “10 flights from Baghdad to Belarus” to repatriate its citizens, Fuad Hussein told …

Migrants who cross into Lithuania from Belarus can be detained for up to a year, the Lithuanian parliament decided on Thursday, increasing an initial six-month detention limit. Eighty-one lawmakers backed the lengthening of the six-month detention period, which was introduced in July as part of plans to hold large numbers …

Belarus and Poland are pushing refugees back and forth across their border and leaving them with little if any food, clean water, or shelter, the U.N. Human Rights office said on Tuesday, urging both countries to address “this appalling situation”. Refugees and migrants interviewed by a U.N. human rights team …

Four migrants from Syria and Iraq were rescued from a swamp in Poland near the border with Belarus late on Tuesday in a life-or-death operation as bitter winter conditions set in, security services said. While the number of migrants trying to cross into the European Union from Belarus has decreased …

Syarhei Tsikhanouski, the husband of Belarus’s opposition leader, was sentenced to 18 years in jail on Tuesday for organising mass unrest and inciting social hatred, according to the official Belta news agency. Alongside him, five supporters were tried and sentenced to prison terms ranging from 14 to 16 years. Tsikhanouski, …

Lithuania said Thursday it would offer migrants a greater cash incentive to return home, as the Baltic state struggles to repatriate thousands who crossed into the EU member from Belarus. Each migrant who voluntarily opts to go back to their country of origin will now receive 1,000 euros ($1,130) instead …

Fewer migrants are trying to cross the frontier between Poland and Belarus, but the Polish Border Guard told journalists visiting the previously off-limits border zone on Monday that it still faces provocations from Belarusian forces. Reuters was among a group of journalists permitted to enter the area around the Kuznica …

The Belarusian defence ministry said on Sunday it had summoned Ukraine’s military attaché to protest against what it called repeated violations of Belarus’ airspace by Ukrainian aircraft. Relations between the two countries have plummeted since last year, when Russia sided with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko during mass street protests and …

More than 400 Iraqis boarded the repatriation flight heading to Baghdad this morning from Minsk, the Spokesperson to the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed al-Sahhaf, said on Saturday. Al-Sahhaf said in a statement he released earlier today that 419 Iraqis were voluntarily evacuated on this flight. So far, 2,722 …

The European Union proposed on Wednesday curtailing some rights of migrants at its frontier with Belarus, a gesture towards member states Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia, even as Brussels acknowledged border tensions were easing. The EU says Belarus has flown in migrants from the Middle East to push them to cross …

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said on Sunday that the NATO military alliance needed to adjust its stance towards Belarus, whose military, he said, was becoming more integrated with Russian armed forces. Nauseda told a news conference with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in …

The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed the latest developments in the file of Iraqi migrants stranded at the Belarusian border with the European Union countries on Friday. The Ministry’s Spokesperson, Ahmed Al-Sahaf, said in a press statement that the ministry “has been following the developments of the Iraqi migrant …

Belarusian border guards may be guilty of torture against migrants on the country’s border with Poland, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Wednesday, adding that both nations have committed “serious human rights violations.” The group said in a report that the two governments “have an obligation to prevent further deaths by …