Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko claims Wagner’s “core” will remain in Belarus despite observations suggesting that the mercenary group is leaving after the death of its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin. Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania threaten to completely shut their borders with Belarus should a “critical incident” involving the Wagner Group occur. Meanwhile, Minsk announces that it will host the Collective Security Treaty Organization’s Combat Brotherhood 2023 joint strategic military exercise from Sept. 1-6.
Belarusian authorities Wednesday declared the country's oldest and most prominent human rights group an extremist organization. The move against Viasna, founded by imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, comes amid a yearslong crackdown on dissent in Belarus and exposes anyone involved in its activities to criminal prosecution. Belarus was swept by massive protests, some of which drew more than 100,000 people, after the August 2020 presidential vote handed a sixth term to the country's authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and Canada expand their sanctions against Belarus to mark the third year anniversary of the fraudulent 2020 Belarusian presidential election. A fire breaks out at one of Belarus’ largest oil refineries just days after Ukraine warned that Russia would stage a “false flag” attack at the site. British intelligence suggests that Belarusian authorities are likely funding the Wagner Group as relations between Moscow and the group’s founder continue to sour.
A court in the Belarusian city of Rahachow in Homiel Oblast drew up a protocol on "extremist activity" against activist Dzyanis Dashkevich because of a photo of Polish President Andrzej Duda with a white-red-white flag in the background.
As NATO’s anticipated 2023 Vilnius Summit makes headlines, the alliance’s members urge Minsk to end its complicity in Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya criticizes his comment.