Вадим Кабанчук. Фото: t.me/CabinetBelarus
The Belarusian Public Advisory Council on Countering Russian Hybrid Aggression was presented in Warsaw on October 9. According to the press service of the United Transitional Cabinet, the initiative aims to coordinate efforts to counter the recruitment of Belarusian citizens by Russian and Belarusian security services in Europe, as well as their involvement in the war against Ukraine.
The presentation took place as part of an event entitled “Belarus in Russia’s Hybrid Aggression Framework: Risks, Scenarios and Response Measures for NATO’s Eastern Flank.”
Vadzim Kabanchuk, the United Transitional Cabinet’s representative for defence and national security, who attended the event, said an online portal was planned for launch within a month. It will allow people in difficult situations to seek assistance, receive consultations and access instructions.
“There will also be practical measures, what is known as ‘fieldwork’, as well as preventive measures to ensure that our people do not find themselves in difficult situations or fall into traps that Russian and Belarusian security services are currently trying to set through social media. The main message of the event was that we have been talking about the threats of hybrid aggression for quite some time and documenting that it is, in fact, already taking place. The Russian Federation is conducting these operations together with Belarus. It is time to take practical steps to counter this hybrid aggression and the threats posed by the ‘Russian world’, and to act pre-emptively,” he said.
“This is also a task for the broader Belarusian community, because this offensive will gradually affect everyone. If the situation develops into a large-scale crisis and, for example, many of our young men in Belarus itself are subjected to mobilisation, as happened in the Russian-occupied territories of Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea, then this tragedy will affect virtually every Belarusian family.
“To prevent this and, where possible, avoid such a negative scenario, we now need the broadest possible participation from various organisations, including the main institutions of the democratic forces, civil society and political parties,” the United Transitional Cabinet representative added.
According to figures cited by Kabanchuk, around 700 Belarusian citizens have been killed fighting on Russia’s side since the full-scale war in Ukraine began in 2022, while several dozen others are being held captive by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He said between 3,000 and 4,000 Belarusians are currently fighting on Russia’s side.