Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko met with his security ministers on Thursday, days after the sudden death of the country’s longtime foreign minister, and he warned of attacks from external enemies: NATO, Ukraine and even exiled Belarusians fighting in Ukraine against Russia.
Vladimir Makei, a former foreign minister who led failed efforts to improve relations with the West, died over the weekend. His death comes as Russia presses Belarus to send troops to Ukraine.
At the end of October, 625 people at a time were recognised by the Belarusian authorities as extremists, which is a record. All in all, there are about 1,500 people on the list, and all are listed for the year 2022.