In an interview with Euronews, the Belarusian leader discussed the threat posed by Russia to Belarus and the entire region, and why Putin needs Lukashenka. During the conversation, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya also talked about the Russification of Belarus and the need to withdraw the country from Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Here are the most striking quotes from the interview:
📌 “It seems that dictators actually want to bring Belarus and Ukraine back to the past. To the Soviet past. But we want to choose our future independently. And they treat us like disobedient children”.
📌 “It’s important to achieve the withdrawal of Belarus from the war because an independent Belarus will be one of the greatest sanctions against Putin and will support Ukraine’s victory”.
📌 “What is happening now in Belarus is total Russification. We see how the Belarusian language is gradually being banned and organizations promoting Belarusian identity are being shut down. They want to turn Belarus into a branch of Russia. And they have been doing the same thing in Ukraine. But actually, all this has had a huge impact on the Belarusian nation. We have started to engage more with Belarusian culture. We have begun to promote it. We must counter Russification because Belarus is not part of Russia”.
