Statement By European Belarus Civil Campaign Regarding Threat Of War In Europe

The presence of Russian troops on the territory of Belarus is illegal.

The European Belarus civil campaign has issued a statement in connection with the military exercise "Union Resolute-2022" on the territory of Belarus:

- On February 10 this year, a large-scale military manoeuvre "Union Resolute-2022" with the participation of Russia and Belarus is scheduled to begin. Prior to that, Russian troops and Russian military equipment had been transported to Belarus for several weeks. The Russian leadership and officials of the Lukashenka regime conceal real figures related to the maneuvers, which, according to US and NATO officials, will involve 30,000 Russian troops on the territory of Belarus, including marines and paratroopers (Airborne Troops).

The maneuvers will involve the latest Russian weapons, such as the S-400 Triumf and Iskander missile systems, Pantsir surface-to-air missile systems, Su-35 fighters, Tu-22M3 strategic bombers, and other weapons.

According to the Belarusian General Staff, the military exercises will involve almost the entire Belarusian armed forces, as well as units of the Eastern Military District, the Air and Space Forces and the Airborne Troops of Russia.

Military activity on such a scale has not been seen in Belarus since the Cold War.

These unscheduled manoeuvres look more like preparations for war, or rather Russia's military aggression against Ukraine. A 130,000-strong Russian army is already concentrated on the Russian-Ukrainian border and in occupied Crimea. There are alarming signals about the deployment of Russian troops on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border, in particular the establishment of a Russian airbase at an abandoned airfield in Ziabrauka in Belarus, 25 km from the Ukrainian border.

The military tension has been unilaterally created by the Kremlin, which again threatens Ukraine's independence and territorial integrity, and involves in its dangerous plans the Belarusian military, with whom illegitimate dictator Lukashenko is paying off as if they were slaves to support his regime.

Statements by Russian officials and representatives of the Lukashenka regime about alleged threats to Belarus and Russia from NATO or Ukraine do not correspond to reality and are disinformation aimed at fuelling the conflict created by the Kremlin.

In view of the current situation, we believe that:

- Russia's actions on the territory of Belarus and on the borders with Ukraine constitute a threat to European security;

- The only real threat to the independence and territorial integrity of Belarus comes from the illegitimate regime of Lukashenka, who holds power in Belarus through violence and Kremlin support;

- Belarus is threatened neither by NATO, nor its individual members, nor by Ukraine. Moreover, it was the determination of the authorities of Poland, a NATO member state, that helped prevent Lukashenka's dangerous provocation on the borders with the European Union, which resulted in human casualties as the Lukashenka regime cynically used migrants to create tension on Belarus' borders with the European Union;

- The presence of Russian troops on the territory of Belarus is illegal, as it was sanctioned by illegitimate Lukashenka, who falsified all his "elections" and lost the last of them with a bang in 2020;

- The illegal presence of foreign troops on the territory of a sovereign State, in this case Belarus, is qualified under international law as occupation, and not as military manoeuvres, and in case of aggressive military actions against a third State, the Lukashenka regime becomes an accomplice to war crimes;

On the basis of the preceding facts we declare

- The inviolability of the principle of the independence of Belarus and the illegitimacy of any decisions of the Lukashenka regime that touch upon the issues of independence

- Our full and unconditional support of independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine;

- The inadmissibility of any provocation by Russia or the Lukashenka regime, which could lead to an armed conflict threatening to become a full-scale war in Europe

- The necessity of withdrawal of all troops and weapons of the Russian Federation from the territory of Belarus as soon as possible, which would contribute to de-escalation of the tension in the region.