Vitaly Portnikov: Lukashenko Will Find It Harder Every Day

• 7.11.2025, 20:00

The dictator realized that the Belarusians hated him.

Lukashenko's proposal to Ukrainians to move to Belarus is the height of cynicism. The well-known Ukrainian journalist Vitaliy Portnikov stated this on his Youtube channel. The website Charter97.org cites the transcript:

- First, the Belarusian dictator provides the territory of his country to attack a neighboring state, condemns its inhabitants to death, rocket attacks, bombings, robberies, rapes, to years of life in an environment of endless war. And then invites these people suffering from the war, largely due to his own efforts and contributions, to move to Belarus and work for one of the most archaic and misanthropic regimes of the modern world. He promises the Ukrainians, who are fighting to preserve their state and democratic freedoms in this state, the opportunity to live under the dictatorship that the citizens of Belarus have.

There is no doubt that if the citizens of Belarus themselves could decide what kind of power will be in their country, the president of Belarus would certainly not be Lukashenko, surrounded by a thieving bunch of associates and controlled from the Kremlin. There is no doubt that if the citizens of Belarus had the opportunity to decide how their own government should act, none of them would have ever agreed to the presence of Russian troops on Belarusian soil and to the aggression committed by the Russian armed forces from the territory of Belarus. I think that the Belarusians would do everything possible to prevent Russian aggression, because they themselves perceive Russian troops on their own territory as occupation troops, and Lukashenko's regime has been perceived as occupation troops for quite a long time, even by those who in the 90s carelessly voted for a self-satisfied populist promising Belarusians benefits by using Russian economic potential.

All this can be talked about as a factor of the Belarusian political life until Lukashenko tried to invite Ukrainians to live and work in Belarus, says Vitaly Portnikov:

- Obviously, this is because Lukashenko is no longer satisfied with his own citizens. He continues to fear popular uprisings because 2020 has forced him to make an obvious conclusion. He is not a hero to his own population. The only way for him to survive is to sit on Russian bayonets. And this is not the most comfortable position.

Lukashenko continues to hope that if he, for example, invites war-weary Ukrainians, the natives of this country, who decide to move to Belarus, will not care about replacing the authorities and will not care about protests. In this case, they will be able to become a part of the economic machine of the regime in a situation when Lukashenko does not have so many opportunities to maintain economic stability and Russia does not have so much money to support the Belarusian regime. Moreover, despite the dialogue with the United States, the main sanctions pressure on Belarus still exists and hardly contributes to the normalization of its economy.

Although, it is quite possible that Lukashenko invites the Ukrainians primarily for the sake of a red word, to show what a peacemaker he is and how respectfully he treats the citizens of the neighboring state. He has made similar statements before, when he demonstrated that he was ready to be a mediator between Russia and Ukraine even after 2014, when the leaders of Ukraine, Russia and Western countries gathered in Minsk to settle the first phase of the war against Ukraine unleashed by Russia. But even then it was clear that Lukashenko wished success in this war to Putin and not to the Ukrainian people first of all because any nation that can control its own power and choose its own road for development is hated by Lukashenko, as well as by Putin. Any nation that can say "no" to a dictator, its own or someone else's, Lukashenko, like Putin, hates.

These two men are natural allies in the war against Ukraine because they share a common contempt for nations that seek to make their own choices and believe that the most effective way to prove their own capabilities is through violence and war. Violence in the streets of Minsk, Mogilev, Vitebsk, Gomel, and other Belarusian cities, which has already become habitual for the residents of Belarus. War on the streets of Odessa, Kharkiv, Kiev and other Ukrainian cities, which have fallen victim to Putin's unmotivated aggression. And then, of course, it is possible to lure the inhabitants of these war-devastated cities to Belarus, reminding them that in this country there is peace and quiet and God's grace.

Peace and quiet, provided by providing the territory of Belarus as a springboard for attacking neighboring countries or Putin's special operations against neighboring countries. And God's grace, because Lukashenko has so far managed to massacre his own people and prevent the normal development of his own country.

It is quite obvious that with the weakening of Russia in the course of the Russian-Ukrainian war, it will be more and more difficult for the Belarusian dictator to maintain the stability of his regime and actually contribute to the disappearance of the Belarusian statehood and the Belarusian people. I don't know whether Lukashenko will end up in the dock, but I am 100% sure that his regime will not be durable, and every year of the existence of this regime will be marked in future history textbooks of Belarus as a black year in the national existence. Just as I am sure that no Ukrainians will go to the man who participated in the aggression against their own country. No invitations to Lukashenko will not help, no matter what imaginary benefits he promises to the people, to whose country, together with Putin, he brought an unjust war.