Citizens Of Belarus Unite To Fight Against Putin’s Aggression

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Belarusians are continuing to show support for the people of Ukraine amid their fight to beat back Putin’s recent invasion, even as Belarusians struggle against their country’s authoritarian regime led by Alexander Lukashenko, a Putin ally. Belarusian journalist Hanna Liubakova shared details this weekend of protests inside Belarus against the war in Ukraine — citing human rights advocates, Liubakova reported that “[across] the whole country, at least 1500 people have been detained for opposing the war. They are jailed for wearing clothes in blue and yellow, leaving flowers outside the [Ukrainian] embassy, comments on social media.” The protests in Belarus despite threats of violent detention by authorities mirror widespread anti-war protests that have taken place inside Russia, where thousands of arrests connected to demonstrations targeting the war in Ukraine have been recorded.

In Belarus, shows of opposition to the war also include efforts to thwart the ability of Russian forces to use Belarusian railways. Last Wednesday, Liubakova reported on an incident in which individuals trying to carry out such efforts had been shot. Lukashenko’s “regime published information about Belarusians wounded near Babruisk, one in serious condition,” Liubakova said. “Security forces accuse them of attempting to sabotage railways to stop Russian troops. Police shot at them with live bullets. This happened on March 30.” These sorts of attempts to undercut Russian capabilities have been ongoing for weeks. Back in March, Pavel Latushka, a Belarusian opposition leader, said: “Right now there is an active railway resistance in #Belarus. From Feb 26 to Mar 17, alarm, centralization & blocking systems were disabled, many protective [relays] were destroyed & transformers dismantled by Belarusian activists. #Belarusians support #Ukrainians in all possible ways.”

There’s also a battalion with hundreds of Belarusians including some fighting on the front lines in the Ukrainian military, which has brought in thousands of foreign volunteers amid the war. Pavel Kulazhanka — who previously fled Belarus after fighting the Lukashenko regime and is a member of the Belarusian battalion fighting for Ukraine — told The Washington Post: “Life is about leaps of faith… Fighting Lukashenko was one. Fleeing Belarus was another. Throwing away my life in America was one more. And fighting here, we are making the biggest one of all.” Across the world, unity against the Putin regime and its violence continues to grow — except among people like Tucker Carlson and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), the latter of whom somehow recently decided that now was a great time in which to question the “demonization” of Russia’s leader, Vladimir Putin.