Russia could use Belarus to escalate tensions and stage provocations against NATO countries, Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said in an interview with LRT.
According to her, Alexander Lukashenko remains prepared to provide Belarusian territory and infrastructure for potential Russian offensive operations or intimidation campaigns targeting NATO members.
Tsikhanouskaya said new military infrastructure is being constructed in Belarus near the Ukrainian border and along the country’s borders with European Union member states. She also recalled that Russia’s intermediate-range Oreshnik missile system had been deployed in Belarus.
“We must be extremely cautious. We can see that infrastructure for Oreshnik missiles has been deployed in Belarus, while Russia and the Lukashenko regime are threatening and blackmailing others with nuclear weapons,” Tsikhanouskaya stressed.
The opposition leader added that Moscow and Minsk are already conducting hybrid operations against NATO countries, including Lithuania, Poland and Latvia. These include cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns and the use of drones.
She also drew attention to the construction of a new military training ground in Belarus’s Gomel region, near the Ukrainian border. The facility will reportedly include railway infrastructure allowing heavy military equipment to be unloaded quickly and directly from trains.
