When the Russian army invaded Ukraine almost two months ago, activists in Belarus took to the streets in protest, but that’s not all they did.
They sabotaged rail lines and hacked government websites to disrupt Russian military equipment heading to Ukraine through Belarus.
They photographed and videotaped Russian troop movements in Belarus and alerted Ukraine. Some enlisted in the Ukrainian forces.
A former Soviet republic of 9 million people, Belarus shares borders with both western Russia and northern Ukraine, making it key to Moscow’s strategy.
Under President Alexander Lukashenko, Russia assembled in Belarus under the guise of a joint military training exercise and crossed into Ukraine on Feb. 24.
But while the Lukashenko regime is a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, the citizens of Belarus are another matter.
“Belarusians don’t want the war,” Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the leader of the country’s democratic opposition, told Global News in an interview.
Tikhanovsky ran against Lukashenko in the 2020 presidential election following the arrest of her husband Sergei Tikhanovsky, an opposition candidate.
She was arrested as well after questioning Lukashenko’s claim to have won the vote and has since fled to Lithuania, where she remains exiled.
In Tikhanovsky’s view, Lukashenko is caught between domestic distaste for the war and the debt he owes Russia for supporting his regime.
“Lukashenko’s position now is fragile,” she said. “On the one hand, he doesn’t have (the) support of most Belarusian people. On the other hand, he for sure has a lot of pressure from (the) Kremlin.”
Opposition to the invasion and Lukashenko’s role in it sparked demonstrations that were met with mass arrests and mistreatment of detainees, she said.
“So our people now work more underground.”
As well as tracking Russian army movements, the anti-war movement has conducted cyberattacks and joined an all-Belarusian battalion in Ukraine.
In Poland, Belarusians run the Warsaw Mobilization Centre, which supplies the battalion, and ZYVI, a foundation that helps refugees fleeing the war.
“Belarus is a land of partisans,” Franak Viačorka, a senior advisor to Tsikhanouskaya’s opposition movement, wrote on Twitter.
“Our heroes stop Russian trains, damage Russian equipment, hand out leaflets to prevent Belarus troops from entering Ukraine.”
“Ukraine will prevail, Belarus will be liberated as well.”
Lukashenko once positioned himself as a peacemaker between Moscow and Kyiv, but he has since become what Tsikhanouskaya calls a “co-aggressor.”
By allowing Russian troops to amass in Belarus and cross into Ukraine, he is blamed for facilitated the failed assault on Kyiv.
Canada accused the Belarusian regime of aiding and abetting the invasion, but Lukashenko was hardly in a position to refuse.
He receives “diplomatic, financial, military, media and intelligence support” from Russia, according to Global Affairs Canada.
The Canadian government also alleged the 2020 presidential election he claimed to have won was “marred by widespread irregularities,” and a “systematic campaign of repression.”
The election set off mass protests that were suppressed with what Canada called “state-sponsored violence” and widespread human rights violations.
Amid the uprising, Putin came to Lukashenko’s rescue, vowing to send in Russian troops and giving Belarus a US$1.5-billion loan.
For his part, Lukashenko has been one of Putin’s staunchest defenders, and fed his disinformation campaign.
When the two leaders met last week, Lukashenko claimed without providing evidence that Russian war crimes uncovered in Bucha had been faked by British agents.
While pro-Russian propaganda dominates Belarusian television, “lots of people know what’s going on,” said one activist.
Andrzej Kushnirou said he found it shameful that Lukashenko had involved Belarus in the war, so he left the country and joined a Belarusian battalion fighting alongside Ukrainian forces.
“It’s not right what our country did, what Lukashenko did, for me it’s unacceptable,” he said.
“We need to do something. And many people try to do something. Some go to demonstrations. Some will try to fight in our battalion.”
“And many people in Belarus try to do some guerrilla resistance on railroads and so on, and many people try to do some volunteer work,” he said.
Global News sent questions sent to the Belarusian embassies in Canada and the United States but did not receive any response.
The government and defence ministry of Belarus already face isolation and sanctions for their supporting role in the Russian invasion.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has warned the Belarus military was preparing to become directly involved in the conflict, and Lukashenko’s dependence on Russia has fuelled speculation he might have no choice.
But that has not happened and while Putin might want Belarus to join his attempt to seize swaths of Ukraine, that could prove disastrous.
Belarus does not have a capable military, and the regime is vulnerable, making involvement politically risky, said Prof. Alexander Lanoszka.
“It will be costly for the Ukrainians, but it’s going to be extremely costly for Belarus,” the University of Waterloo professor said.
Tikhanovsky said Belarusian soldiers were demoralized by the possibility of being sent to fight their “brothers and sisters” in Ukraine and might not obey orders to cross into Ukraine.
“Also, our army understands that they don’t have any experience in war and they could be killed there. For what? So they don’t want to fight.”
But she said the victory of Ukraine would open an opportunity for Belarusians to oust Lukashenko and hold elections.
Belarusian activists agreed their fate was intertwined with that of Ukraine, which is partly why they had joined the conflict.
“Our numbers are growing day by day,” said Vladislav, a member of a battalion of a Belarusians fighting alongside Ukrainian forces. He did not want his full name published for security reasons.
The 24-year-old went so far as to credit Belarusian anti-war activists with helping thwart Russia’s plan to capture the Ukrainian capital.
During the initial push for Kyiv, Belarusian cyberattacks on the railroad system caused supply problems for Russia, he said.
A Belarusian software engineer, Vladislav said he moved to Ukraine in 2020. The Russian invasion prompted him to join the Kastus Kalinouski Battalion.
Named after a 19th-century revolutionary who fought Russian occupation of the region, the Belarusian battalion is said to number in the hundreds.
“I saw that was the only choice an honourable man can make in a situation like this,” he told Global News in an interview.
He said fighting was a way of showing that Belarusians didn’t want war with Ukraine and were angry that Lukashenko had dragged their country into it.
“One of the big goals of our battalion is to support Ukrainians and to clear our name, because it was a big shame personally for me that Russian tanks invaded Ukraine from the territory of my country,” he said.
“It was so terrible to feel that, and it was impossible to sit and do nothing about that.”
Vladislav said he had friends and relatives in Ukraine, but he was also fighting for the future of Belarus, which he considered to be under a form of Russian occupation.
“We love Belarus. We love our home. And this is one of the reasons why we’re here,” he said. “Because we are patriots and we want freedom for our country.”
“We know that Belarus will be liberated. We see it in our dreams, and we know that we will come back home and it will be a new republic.”
stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca
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