Cichanoŭskaja calls for tighter sanctions on Łukašenka’s government

June 30, BPN. A Belarusian opposition leader has called on the West to impose heavier sanctions on Alaksandr Łukašenka’s government and support freedom-loving Belarusians, arguing that the deployment of Russian mercenaries, regular troops and nuclear weapons threatens her people.

Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja said on Twitter that all these forces and troops must be completely withdrawn.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this month that Russia had delivered the first nuclear warheads to Belarus, a move that alarmed Belarusian neighbors.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said there was no need to change the bloc’s nuclear posture at the moment.

On June 23, Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin called for an armed rebellion to oust the Russian defense minister.

He later halted the mutiny as a result of agreements reached with Alaksandr Łukašenka and other officials. Vladimir Putin let the mercenary boss go to Belarus. The Belarusian ruler confirmed Prigozhin’s presence in the country on June 27.