Belarus leader criticized by Russia over troop withdrawal
Aleksandr Lukašenka under fire. The Belarusian dictator decided to withdraw troops from the border region with Ukraine, sparking outrage among pro-Russian commentators on Telegram. Belarusians were called a "nation of traitors and parasites."
10:41 AM EDT, July 18, 2024
A wave of criticism against Aleksandr Lukašenka. And from a side he least expected. Russians are fuming over his recent decision regarding the troops stationed along the Ukrainian border. According to Onet.pl, at the end of June and the beginning of July, Belarus announced it was alerting part of its military and directing them to the border with its southern neighbor.
Lukašenka claimed Kyiv was trying to drag Belarus into the war. The tense atmosphere lasted for several days. Finally, Minsk decided to withdraw troops from the border area.
Russians criticize Lukašenka
The Belarusian authorities' decision did not sit well with the Russians. Pro-war Telegram channels heavily criticized Lukašenka and the entire nation of Belarus. Minsk was accused of playing a double game that would result in losing territory.
Russian propagandist Aleksandr Koc even polled to ask respondents whether Belarus is still an ally of Russia. The overwhelming majority said no. Negative comments also reached Lukašenka. The Belarusian authorities tried to clear their name, but this only led to a greater wave of criticism against them.
We are descendants of a nation which, due to its territorial location and proximity to Moscow, has been exterminated many times, but we have never complained and we respect our fraternal unity - wrote "Belarusian Nightingale" on Telegram.
The AP Wagner channel responded to these words, with the author calling Belarusians traitors and parasites "artificially created by communists." They also accused them of wanting to betray Russia.
Emotional posts on social media do not bring any change to the political reality. Belarus remains an ally of Russia. According to some experts, it is even part of Russia or a "prosthesis" of it. It is worth remembering that after Moscow helped him maintain power, Lukashenka signed 28 "integration programs" in 2021, which increased Putin's control over what happens in the Western neighbor. In February 2023, "Rzeczpospolita" reported on a 17-page document that was a plan for Russia's complete absorption of Belarus by 2030.
