The EESC presents the latest analytical overview – I-ST QUARTER, 2022 TRENDS IN BELARUS

Summary:

• The Belarusian army is strongly opposed to military involvement in Ukraine, and its commanders are keen to avoid sending ground troops to Ukraine.
• The new Belarusian constitution abolishes Belarus’ status as a neutral state and creates new mechanisms to allow Alexander Lukashenko to retain power even after his presidential term ends.
• The crisis of illegal migration has been contained and is no longer a priority on Lithuania’s security agenda, but cases of illegal migration at the border with Belarus are still being recorded.
• The new sanctions packages imposed on Russia and Belarus are expected to trigger an economic recession in these countries.
• Belarus is increasingly restricting freedom of expression and media freedom by banning alternative sources of information and the ability to speak out on the war in Ukraine.

Authors:

Dorota Sokolovska is a project assistant at the EESC. She joined the team in July 2021. She contributes to project administration and implementation, assists with organizing events and expert panels. Dorota is also engaged in analytical content creation, co-authored several studies. She focuses on security and the NATO alliance.

Andrius Prochorenko is a Senior Operations Manager at the EESC, holds a Master’s degree from the Institute of International Relations and Political Science, Vilnius University, and has been with EESC since the year 2017. He is responsible for the implementation of EESC’s international projects related to hybrid threats, information warfare and the development of the Eastern Partnership countries. He also contributes to the organisation of high-level policy events and conferences, other national and international projects, and co-authors EESC studies.