The article discusses the rising tensions between NATO member states and Belarus, a close ally of Russia. The “Suwalki gap”, a strip of land on the border of Poland and Lithuania, has been called the “most dangerous place on Earth” due to its strategic location.
Belarus’s national railroad carrier refused transit of certain goods from Belarus to Kaliningrad after Russia launched its full-scale war on Ukraine, prompting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ally, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, to claim that Lithuania’s decision was a “declaration of war”.
The article also mentions the upcoming Zapad (West) military drills in Belarus, which are expected to involve 13,000 Russian troops. The head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergey Naryshkin, visited Minsk and warned that Poland and the Baltic states would be “highly aggressive” and suffer first if there were any “NATO aggression” against the Russia-Belarus Union State.
Additionally, the article reports on the release of Andrei Chapiuk, a volunteer of Belarus’s oldest human rights watchdog, Viasna Human Rights Center, after serving five years and nine months in prison. Four other Viasna advocates remain behind bars, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, who was sentenced to nearly 10 years in prison.
The article highlights the deteriorating human rights situation in Belarus and the increasing tensions between NATO member states and Belarus, which has been accused of planning violent attacks on the Belarusian diaspora.
