Free Republic

President Joe Biden’s administration has contemplated the lifting of sanctions on Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko’s regime in a bid to secure the export of Ukrainian grain without risking the maritime confrontation with Russia that some other allies deem necessary to avert a horrific famine. U.S. officials have broached the Belarus idea with European officials in recent weeks, as trans-Atlantic policymakers endeavor to escape a dilemma created by Russia’s blockade of Ukraine’s ports on the Black Sea. Yet other members of NATO have a growing interest in a maritime operation to challenge that blockade, given the limited amount of grain that...

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally — warned Western nations of a coming World War III, unless they stop supplying Ukraine with weapons. Lukashenko, 68, raised the specter of a global conflict in a letter to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, which was released Monday. “Belarus calls on the countries of the world to unite and prevent the regional conflict in Europe from escalating into a full-scale world war!” he wrote, according to reporting by Newsweek.

Summary Poland is openly leading a coup in Belarus. The massive protests that gripped Belarus after the presidential elections are causing concern in the West. At the same time, Polish politicians are the most active in commenting on the events in the neighbouring country. Poland initiated a discussion to overthrow Lukashenko at the EU level. On August 9, presidential elections were held in Belarus which Alexander Lukashenko won. Western countries, for which the Belarusian leader had been a hindrance for a long time, did not put up with the voting results. As a result, pre-planned riots broke out in Belarus....

When Russian troops first streamed across the Belarusian border into Ukraine for what they had assumed would be a lightning assault on Kyiv, they were intending to rely on the region’s extensive rail network for supplies and reinforcements. The Russians hadn’t taken into account the railway saboteurs of Belarus. Starting in the earliest days of the invasion in February, a clandestine network of railway workers, hackers and dissident security forces went into action to disable or disrupt the railway links connecting Russia to Ukraine through Belarus, wreaking havoc on Russian supply lines.

Dozens of statements from ordinary trackmen and line workers, rail hands and IT specialists, conductors and engineers showed the depth and breadth of opposition in Belarus to Russia’s war, as well as towards Mr Lukashenko. “I know these guys – they are drivers, security guards and maintenance crews,” Franak Viacorka, an adviser to Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, tells The Independent in an interview. ...While the war may help Mr Putin consolidate his hold over Russian society and politics, for Belarus and its autocratic leader the conflict could unravel an already shaky calm imposed by force. Polls conducted by the...

Massive explosions in a number of cities in #Belarus. Residents of Baranavichy, Luninets, Stolin, Hantsavichy, Slutsk, Kletsk and other cities reported sounds similar to explosions. We are trying to understand what happened

Few facts, much speculation as explosions heard in Belarus Today, 12:02 am Reports indicate that booms are being heard in several areas of southern Belarus. /snip There is no confirmed reliable information about the source of the blasts, but speculation over the mystery ranges from sonic booms to a false flag attack by Russia to an internal coup. An opposition politician opposed to Minsk’s alliance with Moscow claims 30 aircraft recently took off and 6 missiles were shot near Kalinkovich, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the border with Ukraine. /snip

The Belarusian army did not take part in the Russian "special operation" against Ukraine and does not plan to do so, said Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, reports the Telegram channel Pool 1. "The Belarusian army did not take part in the "special operation" and does not intend to do it," Lukashenka said and added that Belarus is protecting the state border from Brest to Mazyr on its own. "The hybrid war that has been started against Belarus, especially the sanctions war in the economy and finance, is for a long time. They clutch us with a concrete grip. This is...

The deputy minister of defence for Belarus has reportedly submitted his resignation and claimed he cannot support the current Russian invasion of Ukraine. Major General Viktor Gulevich, who is also the chief of the general staff, argued that Belarusian military unit personnel refused to take part in hostilities and that the Armed Forces of Belarus could not complete a single battalion group. Mr Gulevich is among a number of Belarusian officials facing economic sanctions from the UK government because of their closeness with Vladimir Putin.

Russian president Vladimir Putin met on Tuesday with Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko. Lukashenko, who spoke with Putin in the eastern Russian city of Blagoveshchensk, said he believes Belarus’ branding as “an accomplice of the aggressor” is unfair. Minsk, which is providing logistical support to the Russian military and served as a key staging point for Russian forces in the opening stages of the invasion of Ukraine, has fallen under many of the same Western sanctions as Moscow since the start of the war on February 24. Lukashenko characterized the war as a “dangerous moment,” explicitly blaming Britain and the United...

A Russian military convoy that was outside of Ivankiv, Ukraine, on Sunday has since made it to the outskirts of Kyiv, satellite images show.On Sunday, the convoy was roughly 40 miles northwest of the Ukrainian capital, according to images provided by Maxar Technologies.Maxar said that roughly 17 miles of roadway is chocked full of the convoy, which consists of armored vehicles, tanks, towed artillery and other logistical vehicles. The private US company said the convoy was located on the T-1011 highway at Antonov air base around 11:11 a.m local time.Antonov is roughly 17 miles from the center of the Ukrainian...

The Ukrainian state security service has officially reported that a rocket arrack on Zhytomyr Airport - located some 93 miles west of Kiev - was launched from the territory of Belarus. Belarusian special forces were seen loading onto airplanes in preparation for an air assault on Kyiv in what could be a widening of the war, military sources stated. Ukrainian intelligence has reportedly learned from within Belarus that ‘special ops’ troops have been spotted loading up planes for a major attack. A widening of the conflict to potentially include Russian ally Belarus could signal Vladimir Putin’s growing fury and frustration...

Their return felt humiliating. As men, women and children trudged exhausted through the arrivals hall of Irbil airport, camera crews mobbed them and yelled questions about why they had left Iraq in the first place. Most of the families just kept their heads down. On the outbound journey they had been hopeful, ready for the new life in Europe that travel agents had promised. But it turned out they were unwitting pawns in Europe’s latest migration battle. The repatriation flight brought them back to the place they had spent life savings trying to leave. .... Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has...

Russia has orchestrated the deployment of special operations troops to the northern border of Belarus to see how sudden surges of migrants to the area are straining neighboring NATO countries' ability to respond, a source familiar with local governments' assessments tells U.S. News – the latest development in Moscow's troubling campaign of destabilization against Europe. It was not immediately clear whether the commandos came from Russia or from Belarus, says former U.S. Army Europe Commander Ben Hodges, who says senior officials in Latvia believe the deployments are at least for reconnaissance, if not some other form of nefarious distraction. The...

According to unofficial information obtained by PAP, a meeting of Polish officials is planned for Tuesday at which the possibility of triggering Nato's Article 4 will likely be discussed. The meeting is to be attended by the president, Andrzej Duda, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and the defence and interior ministers as well as officials of the foreign ministry, armed forces, police, Border Guard and other services. Nato's Article 4 provides for joint consultations should a member state consider its territorial integrity, political independence or security to be under threat. Poland, Lithuania and Latvia have been tackling an escalating migration crisis...

The political developments in Israel today but first... A tripling of injuries among 12 to 17 olds being vaccinated for COVID-19 in the US. That's part of the latest data from the CDC on vaccine side effects through Friday May 21st. There are not 3,449 total adverse events for 12 to 17 year olds... A vaccination site at a middle school in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho targeting children in the 12 to 17-year old age group staffed by National Guard personnel and guarded by police... A manhunt in France for an ex-soldier described as heavily armed. He opened fire on police...

Some 150 people protesting mask orders and other coronavirus restrictions in Winnipeg, Canada this evening... the case against Pastor Tim Stephens of Fairview Baptist Church in Calgary, Alberta dropped... A "mask off" student walkout at Prairie High School in Vancouver, Washington today over the school order to wear masks... Tonight vaccination in the US reaching new milestones with "partial vaccination" reaching just over 50 percent of the nation's population and the "full vaccinated" moving over the 40 percent... The biggest vaccination lottery yet announced in California... "When the Democrat Party is applauding your actions, especially in a state like Idaho,...

"The fact that one may not want to get vaccinated, in this case a disturbingly large proportion of Republicans, only actually works against where they want to be" Those comments from Dr. Anthony Fauci on CNN today. Fauci drawing a link between vaccination for COVID-19 and the lifting of coronavirus restrictions in the USA.... Starting today you don't have to wear a mask outside in Israel... The Czech Republic in Eastern Europe expelling 18 Russian diplomats this weekend. They are said to be intelligence agents. Deputy Prime Minister Jan Hamacek blaming Russian military intelligence (GRU) for an explosion at an...

Some angry New Jersey citizens living under the Dictatorship of COVID-19 getting a chance to confront Democrat Governor Phil Murphy as he dined outside with his family and a warning the words might be disturbing to some... The Danish study on wearing masks and COVID-19 published in recent days showing very little difference in preventing people from catching the virus... "Mask=Muzzle" "We will not comply" "Stuff your mandate" Those signs and others outside the Capitol in Salem, Oregon... Protesters on the streets in Omaha again tonight as well as Saturday night following the police killing Thursday evening of Kenneth Jones......

Starting tomorrow no store in New Mexico no matter how large will be limited to only 75 customers at a time.... Citizens protesting today at the private residence of Utah Governor Republican Gary Herbert over his coronavirus lockdown orders... Police making arrests in two British cities this weekend going after people opposing the coronavirus lockdown... Police in London breaking up a baptism where 30 people gathered in violation of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's lockdown... An open air mass celebrated in Nantes, France today to protest government coronavirus restrictions on indoor worship... France's leading opposition politician, Marine Le Pen of the...