- Belarusian President Lukashenko Cuts off Exiled Enemies with Passport Ban Bloomberg
- Belarus bans citizens from renewing passports abroad, spreading fear among those who fled repression The Associated Press
- Belarusian diplomatic missions to stop issuing passports to citizens living abroad Meduza
- Lukashenka Orders Belarusian Embassies To Stop Issuing Passports Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
- Belarus Is One of the Countries With the Most Expenses for Visa Applications, Historically – SchengenVisaInfo.com SchengenVisaInfo.com
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Tag Archives: Belarusian
‘I don’t support Lukashenko,’ Belarusian Sabalenka says after reaching French Open semis – video – The Guardian
- ‘I don’t support Lukashenko,’ Belarusian Sabalenka says after reaching French Open semis – video The Guardian
- Elina Svitolina says Aryna Sabalenka made handshake snub worse – ESPN ESPN
- Sabalenka Reacts To Reaching Semi-Final & Doesn’t Shake Hands With Svitolina | Eurosport Tennis Eurosport Tennis
- Sabalenka Says She Does Not Support War, Lukashenka After Defeating Ukrainian At French Open Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
- Elina Svitolina Press Conference after Quarterfinals | Roland-Garros 2023 Roland-Garros
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Opposition Belarusian Project reveals what weapon was used to attack Russian A-50 AWACS in Machulishchy airbase – Yahoo News
- Opposition Belarusian Project reveals what weapon was used to attack Russian A-50 AWACS in Machulishchy airbase Yahoo News
- Russia’s $330 Million A-50U AWACS Aircraft, That Was ‘Destroyed’ In Belarus, Appears Intact In Latest Images EurAsian Times
- Are Belarusian ‘guerrilla’ activists targeting Russia? DW (English)
- Belarus official says claim activists blew up Russian spy plane near Minsk is fake Reuters
- Ukraine war – latest: Chinese satellites ‘sending images to Wagner Group’; Moscow’s one condition for rejoining nuclear treaty Sky News
Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei dies ‘suddenly,’ state says
The ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. State media outlet Belta reported his death, citing a ministry spokesperson, but also did not provide further details.
Makei had for years been in the orbit of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, becoming foreign minister in 2012. Previously, Makei served as an assistant and later as chief of staff to Lukashenko, according to a biography on the ministry’s website, which says he was married and had three children.
Lukashenko has expressed condolences to Makei’s family, Belta reported.
Makei was set to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov this week in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, Russia’s foreign ministry said last week.
In a Sunday statement, Russia’s foreign ministry said that Lavrov had sent a telegram of condolence to Makei’s wife, adding: “The leadership and staff of the Russian Foreign Ministry deeply mourn the untimely death of Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei.”
“Vladimir Vladimirovich Makei was a true friend of Russia, who made a unique contribution to the comprehensive development of broad bilateral cooperation, the integration construction of the Union State, the strengthening of ties between the fraternal peoples of Russia and Belarus,” the ministry said.
Maria Zakharova, a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, said in a Saturday Telegram post that “we are shocked” by the reports of Makei’s death.
Throughout the war in Ukraine, Belarus has remained a close ally to the Kremlin, with Lukashenko hosting Russian troops and equipment, allowing Russia to use his nation as a launchpad for hundreds of airstrikes against Ukrainian targets and detaining hundreds of antiwar demonstrators.
In September, Makei said in remarks at the United Nations General Assembly that “it is the collective West that should fully bear the responsibility for the ongoing bloodshed in Ukraine,” and that the West had “made this conflict inevitable.”
Natalia Abbakumova contributed to this report.
Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk snubs Belarusian Victoria Azarenka at U.S. Open
The women had played for an hour and a half. On match point, Kostyuk’s forehand went into the net, sending Azarenka to the third round. The 33-year-old screamed in celebration, pumping her clenched fists while the crowd at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens cheered. Kostyuk, meanwhile, approached the net with her racket lifted. The two then quickly bumped rackets before turning to shake the chair umpire’s hand.
The moment lasted less than five seconds, but the tension carried into post-match news conferences.
“It was just my choice,” Kostyuk said of skipping the handshake, adding: “We had a great match, don’t get me wrong. She’s a great competitor, I respect her as an athlete, but that has nothing to do with her as a human being.”
Kostyuk said she could not support tennis players who have not publicly condemned the war in Ukraine, which has killed more than 5,500 civilians and forced over 7 million people from their homes since Russia’s February invasion, according to the United Nations.
Belarus, where Azarenka is from, has been one of Russia’s staunchest allies in its incursion against Ukraine. While it hasn’t gotten directly involved in the conflict, Belarus has allowed Russian forces to stage troops and equipment there. The European Union and the United States have imposed sanctions on Belarus, and Ukraine has accused Russia of launching missiles from there.
In response to the attack, Russian and Belarusian players were banned from the Wimbledon tennis tournament earlier this year. At the U.S. Open, they’re allowed to play — but only if their flags and countries aren’t listed.
The war has prompted tennis players from across the globe to speak out. In February, Russian player Andrey Rublev scribbled “no war please” on a camera lens after winning his semifinal match in Dubai. Daria Kasatkina, the highest-ranked Russian female player, has been an outspoken critic of what she called “a full-blown nightmare.” In March, Azarenka said “I hope and wish for peace and an end to the war” in a statement posted to Twitter.
Nevertheless, Kostyuk — one of the most vocal Ukrainian players — has been challenging Belarusian and Russian athletes to do more to publicly condemn their countries’ leaders. In April, she was part of a group calling on the sport’s ruling organizations to ask Russian and Belarusian players if they supported the war. If they hadn’t denounced the conflict, the group requested that the athletes be barred from international events.
“As athletes we live a life in the public eye and therefore have an enormous responsibility,” the group wrote, adding that “there comes a time when silence is betrayal, and that time is now.”
This week, Kostyuk told reporters she had texted Azarenka before the match to say she shouldn’t expect a handshake.
“I genuinely wanted to warn her that I’m not going to shake her hand because she never came up to me, at least personally, and didn’t tell me her opinion,” Kostyuk said, adding that Azarenka hadn’t used her role on the Women’s Tennis Association players’ council to speak out against the war.
Azarenka, however rebuffed those claims in a news conference: “I feel like I’ve had a very clear message from the beginning, that I’m here to try to help, which I have done a lot. Maybe not something that people see. And that’s not what I do it for. I do it for people who are in need.”
The Belarusian also said she’d be “open any time to listen, to try to understand, to empathize” with Kostyuk. At the same time, she expressed confusion as to why she was removed from last week’s Tennis Plays for Peace exhibition and fundraiser for Ukraine. Though she was due to participate, Azarenka was eventually booted after Ukrainian players complained.
“I thought that this was a gesture that really shows commitment,” Azarenka said of her plans to participate in the event. “I’m not sure why it wasn’t taken that way.”
🎙️ @vika7 full answer on reaching out to 🇺🇦 players through WTA, what she was told & her relationships with them
“I’m here to try to help, which I have done a lot, maybe not something people see. I do it for juniors who need clothes, other people who need money/transportation.” pic.twitter.com/gyxXOrUIzr
— Jay (@theoverrule) September 1, 2022
While shaking hands isn’t mandatory, it’s rare for players not to partake in the ritual, which is seen as a sign of respect. Tennis magazine writer Steve Tignor once described the moment as “the emotional crux of any match.”
In 2013, Azarenka told USA Today it was important for players to show “that mutual respect for each other” by shaking hands. At the time, she said she would never skip the ritual.
“But that never happened to me. Oh no no! And I would never do that … to my opponent,” she said.
Nearly 10 years later, a war would change that.
Julian Mark contributed to this report.
Ukraine forces prepare for possible attack on Belarusian border | Ukraine
Ukrainian forces have built a new line of defences along the country’s previously unfortified northern border with Belarus amid signs of another attack.
Russian forces invaded Ukraine through the Belarusian border in February when they tried to capture the capital, Kyiv.
On 10 May, Belarus’s army chief, Viktor Gulevich, announced the deployment of Belarusian special forces and equipment in response to what he described as a “southern threat” from Ukraine and Nato. Belarus has been conducting military drills on its border with Ukraine since early May.
The Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, has been Russia’s closest ally in its war in Ukraine. On Tuesday, Lukashenko urged the Russian-led military alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, which met in Moscow, to remain united on Ukraine and accused the west of prolonging the conflict.
The Guardian was given access to Ukraine’s border positions on the condition that it did not disclose the exact locations or the surnames of the Ukrainians serving.
In the forests along the Belarusian border, a Ukrainian territorial defence unit made up of fighters between the ages of 19 and the mid-60s, is manning a network of trenches and positions constructed since the February invasion.
Before February, much of Ukraine’s border with Belarus consisted of small kiosk-like checkpoints which Russian tanks broke through with ease. Two days after the invasion, Ukraine closed all its border crossings with Belarus and Russia.
In their analysis of the threat from Belarus, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said last week that the presence of Belarusian forces on the border would probably prevent Ukraine from deploying support operations on its Donbas front.
Armed with AK47s and a few dozen men per position, the fighters hope the Belarusian border will not be used by invading forces again.
“We’ll be in the frying pan,” joked Vova, a man who volunteered to fight in the Donbas in 2014 and was in the Soviet army. Vova signed up to fight alongside his brother, Ihor, and his brother’s son, Maksym, on the second day of the war.
“They took the first 500 men in the queue that day, but there were over 800 of us,” said Ihor, sat between his brother and son at the makeshift barracks near the border.
“I’ve got hypertension, he’s got hypertension, he’s on insulin,” said Ihor, pointing around the room at the middle-aged and pension-aged men. “And then the other part of the unit is younger guys like Maksym.”
Ihor and Maksym were working on a construction site in Kyiv on the morning of the invasion. They rushed back to the Zhytomyr region, where their family live, to sign up. Territorial defence units in Ukraine are made up of people who fight in the same region as where they live.
The men and a few women in the unit said some of them knew each other from before the war. In almost every other case, there is only a few degrees of separation.
“In some cases, it was like, ‘Oh, your grandmother knows my grandfather, maybe we’re brothers’,” said Ihor, who added that fighting among people from his own region gave him a great sense of duty and motivation. Sign up to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every weekday morning at 7am BST
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The unit said they do not have the back up of heavy artillery units, but that they were fortunate to have local geography on their side. The miles-long narrow roads that lead down from the border are surrounded by thick forests which cover the deep, swampy ground.
“No one has ever managed to hold this territory for that reason,” said Ihor, the unit’s military press secretary, speaking about battles around the northern border during the second world war.
Nadal, Djokovic and Murray slam Wimbledon decision to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes
Explaining its stance, Wimbledon said it didn’t want to “benefit the propaganda machine of the Russian regime.”
“I think it’s very unfair (on) my Russian tennis mates, my colleagues,” Nadal said in a press conference on Sunday ahead of the Madrid Open. “It’s not their fault what’s happening in this moment with the war.
“I’m sorry for them, Wimbledon just took their decision … the government didn’t force them to do it. Let’s see what happens in the next weeks, if the players will take some kind of decision in that regard.”
Ukrainian players have largely supported Wimbledon’s ban, and Sergiy Stakhovsky — who retired earlier this year and has since joined the Ukrainian army to defend his homeland — condemned Nadal’s stance.
“@RafaelNadal we competed together … we’ve played each other on tour,” Stakhovsky wrote on Twitter.
“Please tell me how it is fair that Ukrainian players cannot return home? How it is fair that Ukrainian kids cannot play tennis? How is it fair that Ukrainians are dying?”
The All England Lawn Tennis Club’s (AETLC) decision marks the first time that Russian and Belarusian players have been banned from an elite tennis event following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Several high-profile players would be unable to compete, including the men’s world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev and the women’s world No. 4 Aryna Sabalenka.
Murray, who is donating all of his prize money this season to humanitarian relief in Ukraine, said that he was “not supportive” of the plan to ban Russian and Belarusian players from Wimbledon but added that there was no “right answer” to the difficult situation.
“My understanding of the guidance was that Russians and Belarusians can play if they sign a declaration that they’re against the war and against the Russian regime,” he said to journalists at the Madrid Open.
“I’m not sure how comfortable I would feel if something happened to one of the players or their families (as a result).”
In the days following their invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s parliament passed a law mandating jail terms of up to 15 years for spreading intentionally “fake” news about the military, greatly increasing the risks for individual Russians speaking out against the war.
Djokovic, meanwhile, referenced his exclusion from the Australian Open for not being vaccinated against Covid-19 as he voiced his opposition to the ban for a second time.
“It’s not the same thing, but going through something similar earlier this year for myself, it’s frustrating knowing that you’re not able to play,” Djokovic said.
“I still stand by my position that I don’t support the (Wimbledon) decision. I think it’s just not fair, it’s not right, but it is what it is.”
Following criticism from the tennis world, the AELTC defended their decision in a press conference last week.
“Even if we were to accept entries from Russian and Belarusian players with written declarations, we would risk their success or participation at Wimbledon being used to benefit the propaganda machine of the Russian regime, which we could not accept,” tournament chairman Ian Hewitt told reporters last Tuesday.
The players have not yet announced a coordinated response, but the ATP and WTA are reportedly discussing countermeasures that could include the removal of ranking points from Wimbledon.
In a recent interview with CNN, Ukrainian tennis star Marta Kostyuk spoke about the psychcological impact Russia’s invasion has had on her.
“I started a couple of weeks ago, which helps me enormously. But you know, sometimes it goes to a certain extent that it’s scary, the thoughts that come to you,” said Kostyuk, who is extremely conscious of the importance of trying to manage her feelings and says she’s been working with a psychologist.
“I don’t want to say the words because you know, you can figure out what I’m trying to speak about.
“Because at that point, there’s so many things going on, you need to carry so much all at once that you are just like, I can’t handle this anymore.
“I’m just like, what’s the point where it’s all going? It’s never ending like what should I do with my life now? What am I living for?” she said.
Novak Djokovic calls Wimbledon ban on Russian and Belarusian players ‘crazy’
Wimbledon organizers announced on Wednesday that Russian and Belarusian players will not be allowed to compete at this year’s edition following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“I will always condemn war, I will never support war being myself a child of war,” the world No. 1 told reporters at the Serbia Open.
Djokovic was just 11 years old when he endured air strikes on the Serbian capital, which marked the beginning of what would be a 78-day campaign by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to try and bring an end to atrocities committed by Yugoslavia’s then-president Slobodan Milosevic’s troops against ethnic Albanians in the province of Kosovo.
“I know how much emotional trauma it leaves. In Serbia, we all know what happened in 1999. In the Balkans, we have had many wars in recent history,” he told reporters.
“However, I cannot support the decision of Wimbledon, I think it is crazy. When politics interferes with sport, the result is not good.”
Wimbledon on Wednesday announced and defended their decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from this year’s tournament.
“Given the profile of The Championships in the United Kingdom and around the world, it is our responsibility to play our part in the widespread efforts of Government, industry, sporting and creative institutions to limit Russia’s global influence through the strongest means possible,” the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) said in a statement.
“In the circumstances of such unjustified and unprecedented military aggression, it would be unacceptable for the Russian regime to derive any benefits from the involvement of Russian or Belarusian players with The Championships.
“It is therefore our intention, with deep regret, to decline entries from Russian and Belarusian players to The Championships 2022,” it added.
The Kremlin said earlier on Wednesday that a ban on Russian players taking part at Wimbledon as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is “unacceptable.”
The ban on Russian players will prevent several high ranked players from competing at the iconic grass court grand slam.
Four Russian men, including world number two and reigning US Open champion Daniil Medvedev, are currently ranked in the top 30 of the ATP Tour.
Russia has five women in the top 40 of the WTA Tour rankings.
Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka is currently ranked fourth in the world and was a Wimbledon semifinalist last year while compatriot Victoria Azarenka, a former world No. 1, is currently ranked No. 18.
The AELTC’s decision is the first time Russian and Belarusian players have been prohibited from competing in an elite tennis event.
Belarusian president says Putin is ‘completely sane’ and ‘in better shape than ever’
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview that Russian President Vladimir PutinVladimir Vladimirovich PutinFormer national security adviser Gen. Jones: Putin ‘miscalculated’ when it comes to Ukraine invasion Defense & National Security — Biden sends new warning to China Energy & Environment — Interior to continue oil leasing plans MORE “is in better shape than ever” and called him “completely sane.”
“If you think that President Putin physically doesn’t feel well or something like that, he is, as we say, very much alive,” Lukashenko, considered a close ally to Putin, told Japanese television channel TBS in an interview, according to a video clip shared by Reuters.
“He will catch a cold at all our funerals, as they say here. He is an absolutely adequate and healthy person. So the West and you should get this stupidity, this fiction out of your heads. Putin is absolutely adequate. He is in better shape than ever.”
Lukashenko said that Putin had less powers at the moment but that he was fully executing them, adding “this is a completely sane, healthy person, physically healthy. He’s an athlete.”
Russia and Belarus held military drills in Belarus prior to Russia launching its invasion in Ukraine, and in late January, Lukashenko vowed war if Russia or Belarus were attacked amid escalating tensions in the region.
Belarus has been targeted by sanctions from the United States and European Union, among others. Officials have accused the country of being complicit in Russia’s invasion, which is now in its fourth week.
Other leaders have offered much more negative assessments of Putin amid Russia’s invasion; President Biden
Biden’s denouncement of Putin as a “war criminal” was slammed by a Kremlin spokesperson, who said it was “unacceptable and unforgivable rhetoric on the part of the head of a state whose bombs have killed hundreds of thousands of people around the world.”
At a ceremony for a new ferry, Putin details phone call with Belarusian leader and mentions Baltic Sea access
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he discussed Belarus’ interest in having access to the Baltic Sea in a phone call with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko.
“Just today we talked with the President of Belarus on this matter. Our Belarusian friends are interested in being present in the Baltic, interested in developing their own port facilities. You know that I also support it,” Putin said during a ceremony for a new Russian ferry, which he attended virtually.
Belarus is a landlocked country, so it is unclear what practical steps Putin and Russia could take to provide access to the Baltic Sea. However, Russia has customs union with Belarus and shares a long common border.
NATO’s Baltic members — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — are among those most concerned about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
This week, a Ukrainian government official told CNN that Ukrainian intelligence indicates Belarusian “readiness to maybe participate directly” in the invasion.
So far, however, US officials have not seen Belarusian troops “being readied to move into Ukraine” or “that they are moving or are in Ukraine,” a senior US defense official said Monday, adding that the forces inside Ukraine are Russian.
The White House on Wednesday detailed a new slate of economic measures levied against Russia and Belarus, condemning Belarus for “enabling Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.”
“I’ve asked you to provide all possible assistance. This applies to various places, points, structures where our Belarusian friends could fulfill these options. I won’t go into details now, you know about them,” Putin also said during his remarks. “They are important not only for Belarus, but also for us because this is the development of our infrastructure, an increase in cargo transportation on our coast, for our country. Accordingly, the benefits of Belarus will extend to the Russian economy. We are also interested in this, so I ask you to support all these initiatives.”
A province of Russia, Kaliningrad, is situated between Poland and Lithuania along the Baltic Sea coast.