Belarusians do not support entering the war in Ukraine – poll
This figure has been slightly decreasing, as back in April it stood at 6%.
These are results published by Chatham House, an expert organization, that conducted a poll to research how the Belarusians see the war in Ukraine.
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“Views of Belarusians on Russia’s war against Ukraine remain negative," the poll reads. "We see, support for Russia’s actions has been diminishing."
Fewer people in Belarus believe they should support Russia – 23% in June, while in March there were 28%.
While those who think Belarus should join Russia to fight against Ukraine make as little as 5% of the population, says Rygor Astapenya, director for Chatham House’s Belarusian Initiative.
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As many as 43% of Belarussians do not support the Russian army’s invasion of Ukraine, while 35% strongly condemn it, overwhelming those who support it by 2.5 times.
Compared to a previous poll on this matter, conducted by Chatham House in April, now more Belarusians think Russia’s war against Ukraine will have negative consequences for their own country – 55% of citizens believe so, while in April 53% believed so.
The poll was conducted among 804 respondents from June 6- June 17 through online interviewing,
Meanwhile, the security situation in Belarus remains tense. On July 7, Belarusian dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko transferred control over the Zyabrivka military airport to the Russian army, according to the information provided by Ukraine’s Armed Forces General Staff.
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Russia has been increasing its military presence in Belarus, particularly the number of its air force divisions, Ukraine’s Central Intelligence Directorate reported. Moreover, the Belarusian army may organize a number of potential provocations on Ukraine’s border, forecasted Evgen Enin, deputy interior minister in Kyiv.
Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Central Intelligence Directorate of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine, said on June 22 that he wasn’t expecting the Belarusian army to invade Ukraine.
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the nation’s leader, also said he saw the probability of Belarussian invasion as quite low, though the Ukrainian army remains prepared for all possible risks and escalation scenarios.
Belarusian Defense Ministry in mid-May announced it would organize the so-called “people’s militia” which was requested by Lukashenko. Then, on June 7 Belarusian army started a training session that is seen as a sign of its mobilization.
It is expected to be happening up until July 9, according to the Belarus Gayun monitoring project. Besides this, Lukashenko’s government is preparing a special set of policies for introducing martial law in Belarus, according to Ukraine’s Central Intelligence Directorate.
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In the early weeks of the war, Russian invading forces were coming to Ukraine from the territory of Belarus which also has rocket launchers prepared for hitting Ukrainian cities.
The Russian army is also using airports in Belarus for targeting Ukrainian cities, towns, and villages. Hospitals and all kinds of civil infrastructure in Belarus are also provided for the needs of the Russian army.
