Andrei Sannikov was once Aleksandr Lukashenko’s deputy foreign minister, but for almost 30 years, he has been trying to topple the Belarus dictator. In this open-hearted interview, the first of two, Sannikov talks about that:
“Belarus was the key factor for Russia to attack Ukraine”;
The invasion of Ukraine in reality started already back in 2009 with the military exercise called “Zapad” (“West”) on Belarusian soil, with scenarios directed toward Ukraine and Europe;
“It was clear for me and my team that Russia was preparing the onslaught on Ukraine from the territory of Belarus”;
If the West had supported the Belarus opposition in 2020, they would have toppled Lukashenko - and Putin would have lost his closest ally and his military springboard to attack Ukraine;
Lukashenko is by now completely under the control of Vladimir Putin, an accomplice in the Kremlins war in Ukraine, allowing attacks from Belarusian soil;
Most Belarusians are against the war, and many hundreds are fighting with the Ukrainians in Ukraine, even though it is illegal for them;
“They are (also) really fighting for the liberation of Belarus”;
“The hatred against the war amongst Belarusians is growing, and with that, the hatred towards the Lukashenko regime”;
Lukashenko did not dare to order his army to fight in Ukraine in 2022 because the army conscripts were the same young men who demonstrated against him in 2020, “it would have been suicide for him to order the army to fight with Russia against Ukraine”;
History shows the strategic importance for Belarus for both East and West;
“I feel pain” watching Belarus drop off the international agenda.
Andrei Sannikov (Part 1): If the West had helped Belarusians topple Lukashenko in 2020, Putin would not have attacked Ukraine.