Belarusian opposition leader Svitlana Tikhanovskaya said Monday that Minsk leader Oleksandr Lukashenko is a collaborator of Russian President Vladimir Putin and that he dragged Belarus into the war in Ukraine to stay in power, DPA reported. . Lukashenka’s opponent claims that Belarusians will resist joining the conflict if they are involved in a “special operation” under the leadership of the Russian command.

“Our partisan movement will sabotage it. The order will be refused. Or the Belarusian soldiers will surrender here and there,” Tikhanovska said in an interview with the German press agency two years after the controversial presidential elections in Belarus.

The leader of Minsk, Oleksandr Lukashenko, announced his victory in the elections on August 9, 2020, which were contested by the opposition and led to an unprecedented uprising in Belarus. The European Union and the USA do not recognize Lukashenka as a legitimate president, many believe that the real winner of those elections is Svitlana Tikhanovska.

However, although numerous large-scale demonstrations took place in Belarus, they were suppressed by a campaign of repression against pro-democracy opponents, human rights defenders, trade unions and independent journalists.

“Lukasenko is a collaborator. He dragged Belarus into this war, and in order for Russia to keep him in power, he is now doing everything they ask of him,” Tikhanovska emphasized.

Belarus has not officially joined Russia’s war against Ukraine. However, shortly after the start of the Russian invasion in February, Lukashenko admitted that Russian missiles had been launched from Belarusian territory across the border with Ukraine. (Source: Agerpres)

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