Dzmitry Bandarenka: It Requires Character And Brains To Pursue Any Other Policy

Why do the Belarusian diplomats in the UN always vote against Ukraine?

Belarus has voted against the adoption by the UN General Assembly of the resolution “Problem of the Militarization of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol, Ukraine, as well as Parts of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov”, because Lukashenka remains under Russia’s influence. Coordinator of the European Belarus civil campaign Dzmitry Bandarenka expressed such an opinion in a comment for the Gordon.ua.

“I cautiously watch the actions of the Russian Federation in Ukraine. I take the side of Ukraine, and I believe, most Belarusians do the same. No one should breake international agreements. The territorial integrity of Ukraine is the guarantee of peace in our region. However, following the orders of Lukashenka, the Belarusian diplomats in the UN consistently vote against the resolutions supporting the territorial integrity of Ukraine. Unfortunately, I often come across the information in the Ukrainian media that Lukashenka’s position on the Crimea allegedly differs from Putin’s one. This is not true – facts indicate the opposite. It is important to understand that Lukashenka voluntarily agreed to the “mild occupation” of Belarus by Russia – I mean the “union state” here. Meanwhile, being located in Europe, Belarus should have striven to the EU. The union state with the Russian Federation actually forces Lukashenka to always take the Kremlin’s side,” Bandarenka stressed.

According to him, the Ukrainian authorities should understand that Belarus currently depends on Russia.

“Lukashenka lives for today and does not think about the future, he destroys Belarusian culture, receiving some bonuses from Moscow for this, and I'm ashamed that Belarus has such a ruler. Our Constitution and the international status of the country allow us to pursue a different policy. However, this requires character and brains. So far, we can speak of no neutrality of Belarus. The Belarusian army is part of a common army with Russia, Ukraine needs to understand that Belarus is now almost a part of the Russian military machine,” Bandarenka said.

On December 17, the UN General Assembly adopted the resolution “Problem of the Militarization of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol, Ukraine, as well as Parts of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov”.

66 states supported the document, 19 voted against it, and 72 abstained.

On November 25, the Russian Federation fired and captured the vessels of the Ukrainian Navy: the Berdyansk, the Nikopol, as well as the Yany Kapu tugboat, in the Black Sea. The vessels were returning to Odesa after an attempt to cross the Kerch Strait into the Sea of Azov.

The Russian security forces detained 24 Ukrainians, later they were arrested by the Crimean “courts” and transported to Moscow. Three injured Ukrainians were placed in the hospital of the detention center “Matrosskaya Tishina”, the rest were taken to the “Lefortovo” remand prison.

All navy men were charged according to Part 3 of Article 322 (illegal crossing of the border) of the Criminal Code of Russia.

The United States condemned the actions of Russia, calling them an expression of aggression, the European Union expressed concern about the use of force from the Russian Federation. Statements requesting the release of Ukrainian navy men have also been published by NATO and the OSCE.