The Kremlin pressures Lukashenkо to make concessions – ISW
Increasing Russian pressure on Belarus deprives the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Oleksandr Lukashenko, of the opportunity to maneuver in order not to make concessions to the Kremlin.
This was reported by the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
– Russian President Vladimir Putin’s long game to restore suzerainty over Belarus is progressing regardless of Putin’s efforts to more actively involve Belarus in the invasion of Ukraine, – the report says.
Thus, on December 19, during a meeting with Putin, Lukashenko confirmed that Russia had transferred an unspecified number of S-400 air defense systems to Belarus. Previously, the self-proclaimed president of the Russian Federation refused the S-400 systems that were in Belarus in 2020.
Experts say Lukashenko is likely delaying Putin’s bigger demands, such as the involvement of Belarusian troops in an invasion of Ukraine, by making small concessions that he has blocked for years.
Despite the increase of Russian forces in Belarus, ISW analysts consider it unlikely that an offensive in the north of Ukraine is inevitable.
