"Where Do You Get These Illusions From?": Natallia Radzina Dispelled Myths About Belarus Popular Among Ukrainians

• 5.02.2026, 10:08

The processes that will bring freedom to Belarusians have begun.

Editor-in-Chief of the Charter97.org website Natallia Radzina became a guest of Yotube channel of a popular Ukrainian blogger, former Verkhovna Rada deputy Boryslav Bereza. The Belarusian journalist spoke about the missed opportunities of Ukraine to change the situation in our country and dispelled several myths about Belarus popular among Ukrainians.

Natallia Radzina noted that every president in the history of Ukraine (even those who came as a result of democratic revolutions) started to negotiate with Lukashenko and trade with the regime:

- If we look at economic statistics, we will see that Ukraine in 2020-2021 was the first trade partner of Belarus after Russia. If we talk specifically about oil products - it was in first place, even the European Union was in second place. If we talk in general about trade with Lukashenko's regime, it lasted for decades. And it started not with the coming to power of Vladimir Zelensky, but much earlier.

We will not talk about Leonid Kuchma, everything is clear with him. But there was Viktor Yushchenko, who came to power as a result of the Orange Revolution. During his presidency, trade with Lukashenko's regime also took place in the most active way, and the democratic president of Ukraine declared that he was ready to become "Lukashenko's lawyer in the West", against whom sanctions were then imposed for the murders of his political opponents. Let me remind you that back in 1999-2000, opposition leaders Yuri Zakharenko, Viktor Gonchar, Anatoly Krasovsky and journalist Dmitry Zavadsky were murdered in Belarus. Okay, we drop the Yanukovych period, Peter Poroshenko comes to power. Who does he invite to his inauguration? At the same time, the first person to die on the Maidan was a Belarusian Mikhail Zhiznevsky. I remember the shock I had when Pyotr Alekseevich, whom I know personally, invites a Belarusian dictator to his inauguration.

Further trade is going on in the most active way. Minsk becomes a platform for negotiations with Russia, sanctions against Lukashenko are lifted, and Belarus becomes, in fact, a smuggling hub, through which Russia trades with Ukraine, Ukraine with Russia, and the European Union with Russia, bypassing sanctions.

Belarusian oil products were purchased and Ukrainian tanks were fueled with them. But we warned Ukraine that it was a trap. We said: "You realize that at any moment these supplies will be cut off, look for an alternative. Moreover, keep in mind that an attack on Ukraine by Belarus is possible at any moment."

Borislav Bereza expressed an opinion, popular among Ukrainians, that Lukashenko today allegedly does not allow Belarus to be used for a repeated Russian offensive in the north of Ukraine. Natallia Radzina considers such a statement erroneous:

- You have an illusion, which I do not know how to destroy. Where did this false notion come from? Why has it persisted to this day? There is no offensive from the Belarusian direction because there is no decision by Putin. He doesn't have enough troops today for an offensive from Belarus to Ukraine because he is stuck in Donbass, so he simply doesn't have enough resources. But as soon as Putin has these resources, accumulated, a second offensive from the territory of Belarus can happen at any moment. Just as it happened in February 2022. Let us remember how Lukashenko assured the Ukrainians that there would be no offensive from the territory of Belarus. He promised that he would definitely "warn in advance". I personally heard from Ukrainian Defense Ministry officials how Khrenin (head of the Belarusian Defense Ministry - Note Charter97.org) called your Defense Minister Reznikov and assured that "there will be no offensive from Belarus."

But the attack happened, and that means that it may happen again. There is no way Lukashenko can stop Putin here. That's why a real strategy is needed with regard to Belarus.

One of the missed opportunities to change the situation in Belarus, the editor-in-chief of Charter97.org calls Kalinovsky's regiment:

- It was possible to create a full brigade or even a division of Belarusians on the basis of the regiment, if the Ukrainians had told them clearly and distinctly that it would be possible to free their country from dictator Lukashenko and the Russian troops that continue to be there.

In February 2022, Belarusians were going to the International Legion with the hope that they would really be able to reclaim their own country. I myself came to Kiev and met with the men of the regiment, talked to them for hours. They were highly motivated people who were going, of course, to help Ukraine, but with the hope that they would be able to return home. However, it quickly became clear that Ukraine was not planning any operation in Belarus. The Ukrainian command told the Belarusian volunteers not to even think in that direction. Instead, Belarusian fighters were sent to the hottest spots in Donbas, many of them died - about 100 people already. There was no real support, no one worked on the development of this regiment.

I am not taking the responsibility off the Belarusians here, because there were internal contradictions. There was no real support from the office of the same Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who, having huge resources in the West, sitting on financial flows, refused to help the Belarusian volunteer movement. Moreover, they competed with the Kalinovites regarding relations with the Ukrainian authorities - with whom Zelensky would want to communicate: with Tikhanovskaya or with the Kalinovites. There was some absolutely stupid, unnecessary competition. And as a result, today we have what we have.

Belarusians do not go to Ukraine to fight, because they do not see any hope for change. They see that there are some negotiations with dictator Lukashenko, that Ukraine does not take any real steps to support democracy in Belarus, that there is a huge problem with the legalization of Belarusian volunteers in Ukraine. Even those who have passed through hot spots, been wounded, it is very difficult to get Ukrainian documents. There is no real support for veterans, disabled people who fought in the war.

Borislav Bereza wonders why Tikhanovskaya didn't use the opportunity to get the support of Belarusian volunteers. Natallia Radzina believes that she has surrounded herself with former law enforcers and officials of Lukashenko's regime, who deliberately sabotaged real opportunities to free Belarus. Tikhanovskaya is not an independent figure, says the journalist:

- A huge number of people were arrested precisely because of the negligence, ineptitude and infiltration of Tikhanovskaya's structures by agents of special services. Now people are being jailed en masse, for example, because of another project of her office - "Belaruski Gayun", which was led by the blogger Anton Motolko. Remember, there was such a Telegram channel, which told about military activity on the territory of Belarus. I had very big questions to this project, because a lot of information, which even I personally received from the territory of Belarus, was not confirmed in "Gayun". I had the feeling that press releases were prepared for them by the Ministry of Defense of Belarus. Then all the people were actively surrendered. We don't know the real number, but human rights activists report that hundreds, maybe thousands of Belarusians went to prison just because of this case.

And remember the plan "Peramoga", which was announced by the office of Tikhanovskaya, and developed by former lieutenant colonel of the State Department of State Security and Defense of Belarus Alexander Azarov. It's an amazing story altogether. The data of Belarusians who were ready to fight against Lukashenko's regime inside the country with weapons in their hands were collected on a digital platform. This is a classic operation of special services to identify radical elements. A huge number of people were arrested. And the cherry on the cake: in August 2025, Belarusian TV showed a video where Svetlana Tikhanovskaya takes money from a general of special services - $15 in an envelope. She admitted it and stated that "she had been ashamed for five years". Then the special services took her to Lithuania, where she re-recorded the video (the first one was recorded in Minsk) with a call not to take to the streets and disperse.

Why didn't the Belarusians use force to change Lukashenko's regime? Natallia Radzina believes that Ukrainians mistakenly try on the events of the Revolution of Dignity in 2014 to the Belarusian protests in 2020:

- There have never been paramilitary organizations in Belarus. There is no need to compare here with Ukraine. Borislav, I know very well that you are from Right Sector. You, Dmitro Yarosh, Right Sector and other organizations had an opportunity to act more actively.

In Belarus it was simply impossible. And in the 90s, as soon as the first such organizations appeared - "Krai" or "White Legion" - they were immediately strangled. Where were the weapons to be taken from? We explained this to the Ukrainians, who endlessly gave advice and said: "Why are you going out there to peaceful protests, why don't you take up arms? Where was it to be taken?

You don't realize how total the regime in Belarus was and is. Possession of any weapons, existence of paramilitary organizations during all the years of Lukashenko's rule was impossible. People who only showed any activity in this direction were immediately arrested.

But it was through peaceful protest that it was possible to achieve changes in Belarus, if people went out daily to the government house, to the Belarusian television, demanding airtime, going to prisons, demanding the release of their comrades. But this, unfortunately, was not done. It was not done precisely because the leaders who appeared on the wave of these protests (I call them "the foam of the revolution") urged people not to protest actively. And this is the fault of Svetlana Tikhanovska and her entourage. Therefore, I think that she was a controlled presidential candidate whose task was to drain the protest that emerged in Belarus in 2020.

Do Belarusians really live by the principle "only if there is no war"? Are they ready to risk "stability" for the sake of freedom? Natallia Radzina is sure that the Belarusian people will get their country back:

- I am convinced that Lukashenko's regime will fall, it is absolutely inevitable. People have no love for him after 2020, there is no support for the dictator. As a result of the war, we see that destructive processes that hit Lukashenko's regime - sanctions are in effect. Russia, which is waging a criminal war against Ukraine, is bound to have problems.

But it is important to realize that Belarusians need solidarity and support today. I would compare the situation in Belarus with what is happening in Crimea and the occupied territories of Donbas. We do not talk about their situation and do not say that they live according to the principle "only if there is no war". We understand that they have no choice, they cannot take to the streets and protest against the presence of Russian troops. The same thing is happening in Belarus. Lukashenko's regime is absolutely pro-Russian, there are a huge number of law enforcers on the streets who can arrest you at any moment, put you in jail for up to 20 years, kill you, and nothing will happen to him for that. Today, I advocate that Ukraine, together with its European partners, should develop a real strategy with regard to Belarus, which will imply a mandatory change of the regime in Minsk to a democratic and pro-European one. And it should be done taking into account the threats that come from the territory of Belarus - nuclear missiles, "Oreshnik," because in this situation Europe and Ukraine can act preventively.

Borislav Bereza asked a question about the meeting between Zelensky and Tikhanovska. According to his information, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry did not even know about this event. Natallia Radzina also sees no sense in this meeting, pointing to a dangerous moment that could spoil the relationship between Ukrainians and Belarusians:

- I didn't see much sense in the conversation between Tikhanovska and Zelenski, because they discussed, first, the appointment of a special representative of Ukraine for relations with the Belarusian opposition. First of all, there was such a diplomat in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, it is the former ambassador to Belarus Ihor Kizim. I met with him myself, he collected various proposals, but it had no effect on the situation.

The only thing that I paid attention to, among the topics that were discussed, was Lukashenko's prosecution in the framework of the International Criminal Court. When I started reading the press, I noticed the wording "prosecution not only of Lukashenko, but also of his criminal regime". Let's leave out of brackets how effective these ICC warrants are - Putin, as we see, continues to live quietly with them and travel around the world. But what does it mean "with regard to the regime in Belarus"? I am afraid that there may be a game going on here to get the ICC to decide on Belarus' reparations payment to Ukraine. I have already seen such statements from the Ukrainian side regarding the fact that "Belarus will have to pay reparations to Ukraine for the entry of Russian troops".

I can tell you specifically who said this. There is such Dmitry Gromakov, who supervised Kalinovsky's regiment from the side of the Ukrainian authorities. An enigmatic character - it is difficult to determine which agency he represents. In media interviews, he specifically stated that Belarusians would have to give up 50% of shares of their leading enterprises - Belaruskali, oil refineries in Mozyr and Novopolotsk, Belarusian Metallurgical Plant in Zhlobin, Minsk Wheeled Tractor Plant - for the entry of Russian troops into Ukraine. I want to warn the Ukrainian authorities against this mistake. After all, it is not Lukashenko who will pay, but the democratic government of Belarus, and it will have to give Ukraine half of its economy for the crimes of the regime? Or maybe for the fact that Ukraine traded with Lukashenko's regime, recognized it as legitimate, although it has not been so since 1996? This will very much spoil the relations between Belarusians and Ukrainians.

In the end, Natallia Radzina reminded that the Belarusian people resisted the Russian attack on Ukraine and many paid a high price for it, and expressed confidence that Belarusians will be ready to liberate their country:

- Belarusians protested as much as they could. There were partisans who blew up railroads and helped Ukraine. A huge number of people went to prison for this.

When I talk about the need for a strategy on the part of Ukraine and Europe to liberate Belarus, I mean that the Belarusians will be ready to liberate their side themselves, but they will need support from Ukraine and Europe.

Often from the Ukrainians you can hear: "You, Belarusians, have become quite insolent, we have to die for your freedom, we are already exsanguinated". No, the Belarusians will liberate their country themselves, but they should be given such an opportunity.