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Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet Pavel Latushka took part in a briefing for members of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) group during the summer session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The politician said that there can be no secure Europe without a free and independent Belarus and drew particular attention to the continuous military activity in the country since the beginning of 2026 in three key areas: the army, internal troops and territorial defence.
He noted that in January, a large-scale snap combat readiness inspection was conducted on the personal orders of Aliaksandr Lukashenka; in March, comprehensive tactical exercises of the Western Operational Command were held near the EU’s borders; and in May, joint exercises with Russia on the use of tactical nuclear weapons took place. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and internal troops have been preparing to suppress any resistance under wartime conditions. Since May 12, territorial defence mobilisation exercises have been underway, including the formation of local units from reservists.
Latushka also stressed that since March 2025, not a single package of sanctions has been adopted against the Lukashenka regime in connection with human rights violations.
“At the same time, the scale of repression in Belarus is unprecedented. More than 60,000 people have been detained. Around 10,000 people have faced politically motivated criminal prosecution, and nearly 8,500 have been convicted. The recent designation of the European Humanities University in Lithuania as an ‘extremist organisation’ has triggered a wave of persecution against students and their relatives. At present, at least 60 searches have been reported across Belarus,” he said.
“This brutal internal terror directly facilitates external aggression. The total suppression of society, the elimination of independent media and the destruction of the NGO sector have enabled Lukashenka to isolate domestic resistance and provide Belarusian territory, infrastructure and airspace to the Russian military. Internal terror is the clearing of the rear to support external aggression against Ukraine,” the politician said.
Latushka called on ALDE members to lobby their governments to support the International Criminal Court’s investigation into the situation in Belarus, as well as to support the institutions of the democratic forces, independent media and civil society organisations.