What do all these military drills in #Belaris and #Russia mean? Here's your backgrounder 🔽

#Zapad2025 is a large-scale joint military exercise happening Sept 12-16, 2025, the first big drills since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Unlike earlier Zapad exercises, there is a pronounced focus on nuclear escalation and offensive scenarios, including simulating an attack corridor through Poland and Lithuania - a clear shift from defensive posturing.

In #Belarus, opposition leader Mikalai Statkevich has disappeared. After being released with other political prisoners, he refused deportation. Witnesses say masked men removed him at the border. His fate is unknown. His freedom, and possibly his life, is at stake. Who is he? ⬇️ At 69, he is not only a politician but one of the most prominent moral figures of the Belarusian democratic movement. A former army officer and military engineer, he has already spent nearly ten years of his life in prison for opposing Lukashenka's rule.

From September 12-16, #Belarus and #Russia are holding the Zapad-2025 joint strategic military exercise, touted officially as a defensive drill testing readiness of the Union State forces. But beneath the rhetoric is a deeper story about power, signaling, and regional tension. Belarus is a key actor in Russia's war economy. Over 500 Belarusian enterprises feed into Russia's state defense order, including many "front" firms circumventing sanctions. Several civilian plants have been repurposed to support military production, financed largely by Moscow.

Sergei Lavrov claims #Russia must "protect Russian-speaking people" in #Ukraine. It sounds deceptively logical to those unfamiliar with the region. As someone whose first language is Russian, here’s the full truth: language does NOT define nationality or justify aggression. Speaking Russian does not equate to being Russian. Language is a tool of communication and cultural choice - not a chain of ownership.

By the way, that's why today I speak Belarusian on a daily basis.

❗️To the attention of my colleagues in Germany:

One of #Belarus’s most notorious prison officers - accused by former inmates of sadism and torture - has quietly resettled in #Germany under the name Dimitri Schönwiese. Dmitry “Rudolf” Shynvize ran the operations unit of Babruisk Penal Colony Nr 2 - a place housing at least 50 political prisoners. Victims say he relished cruelty, handing out arbitrary punishments and humiliations.

On this day in 1995, #Belarus held a pivotal referendum that would shape the country’s future. Here’s what happened and why it still matters: 🧵 On May 14, 1995, Belarusians voted in a four-question referendum alongside parliamentary elections. The issues:
1. Should Russian have equal status with Belarusian?
2. Should new national symbols be adopted?
3. Should Belarus pursue economic integration with Russia?
4. Should the president have the power to dissolve parliament for constitutional violations?

167 women are political prisoners in #Belarus, many with young children awaiting their return. Here are ten stories of mothers, separated from their children due to political imprisonment - a painful, added burden in their fight for freedom.

@FreeViasna @FreeViasna Antanina Kanavalava, a volunteer in the 2020 Belarus protests, was sentenced to five and a half years. Her two young children, ages four and six, were taken abroad by their grandmother after both parents were detained. In jail, Antanina now suffers from a visual disability.

#Belarus Human rights defenders have documented years of repression. Among the 1,870 people they interviewed, 60 reported rape, sexualized violence, or threats of rape.

60 women and men.

One detainee recounted a female staff member saying, "Put these guys on your truncheons." According to the report of the @UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, there are known cases of sexual violence:
"Our findings confirm the rape of detainees and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence against both men and women. Medical records reviewed by OHCHR indicate the presence of trauma to the male genitalia. Detainees were also subjected to psychological pressure, including threats of rape."

#Belarus On that day three years ago, our cities and towns protested against rigged elections. The regime resorted to violence, torture and shooting. Peaceful protesters died on the street and in detention. What I learned about myself and my nation after the past three years ⬇️



While some commentators prefer to undermine our fight, this peaceful and massive revolution is the most critical event in the recent history of Belarus. All strata of society said no to the archaic regime. We showed unity, resilience & creativity. I finally understood my nation.

#Belarus The current Consitution offers these two scenarios:

First, if Lukashenka suddenly dies, the chairperson of the Council of the Republic, Natalia Kachanava, will perform his duties until the new elections. The Council of the Republic is the upper house of the parliament. Secondly, if Lukashenka is killed, a state of emergency or martial law will be declared, while state institutions and officials will follow the decisions of the Security Council. At the same time, the same Kachanava will preside over the meetings of the Security Council.

#Belarus On May 5, Lukashenka already had problems with his health. Listen to his voice when he addressed the room. There was no bandage on his hand, so we can assume that it appeared later, as it was seen on May 9 in Moscow. Perhaps his health got worse by then. Later on May 5, prime minister Raman Halouchanka gave a speech at the ceremony dedicated to Victory Day at the Palace of the Republic. On May 9, Lukashenka travelled to Moscow but felt too weak to walk with other rulers and had to leave immediately after the parade.

I'm grateful to @ZelenskyyUa for mentioning the support for #Ukraine among Belarusians & that they keep fighting against the regime. I want to address one thing: the Ukrainian President said there were no victims. Not true. Security forces shot peaceful protesters on the streets. Aliaksandr Taraikouski was shot dead on August 10, 2020. I was not far away from Pushkin Square. All of us heard the shooting. What a cynical & deliberate murder of a man who wanted to show the police that he was unarmed & went out to protest against the rigged election.

This is sickening but can't be ignored. I'm sharing excerpts from the @UNHumanRights report on violence in #Belarus during mass protests in 2020:

OHCHR documented 6 cases of rape committed in police vehicles and in police stations throughout Minsk against four men and two boys. In one case, a man was raped in the Okrestino detention centre /.../. Using a baton, officers ruptured the victim’s rectum, causing heavy bleeding, and were laughing at him instead of providing first aid, covering his mouth as he was screaming from the excruciating pain.

#Belarus The sudden visit of the Russian MoD Sergei Shoigu caused another round of threads about Russia's immense pressure on Lukashenka who refuses to obey. I’ll be boring and stick to facts because there is little evidence of such pressure. Instead, we see an opposite trend ⬇️ First, Putin and Lukashenka hold regular & quite friendly meetings. They are very important for Lukashenka to show his elites that he has Putin’s support. Putin doesn’t seem to refuse a chance to meet.

Second, Russia supports Belarus financially & by providing various benefits.

#Belarus When I read comments that Belarusians gave up and are doing nothing, I want to share the facts and data. In November alone, at least 354 people were arrested for political reasons. It gives us 11 people every day arrested for their opposition to the regime and the war These figures come from @viasna96 human rights defenders. Just a reminder: their director Ales Bialatski is in jail.

The regime's list of "extremists" now includes 2117 people. Among them are journalists, bloggers, priests, pensioners and many others. Every month, it grows.

I am rubbing my eyes at the number of conspiracy theories caused by FM Uladzimir Makei’s death. Of course, any sudden death, especially of an important official in a dictatorship provokes interest. The independent outlet @nashaniva wrote about heart attack, citing its own sources In this particular case, I'd believe they indeed have their own sources. Though we can't exclude anything, for now, no other evidence exists.

I wanted to share other points that I’ve read since yesterday. First, about his alleged pro-Western views. It was the result of balancing

Let’s go through the facts.

🔹Vital Melnik is a railway partisan who was shot in his knees. Now he has been charged with terrorism, insulting Lukashenka, and illegal acquisition of weapons. The case was referred to the court. Terrorism in #Belarus can mean the death penalty 🔹Right now, three men are on trial in the Homiel court, accused of terrorism,treason, participation in an extremist formation. The reason for the arrest was a relay cabinet on the railway set on fire. The Investigative Committee officially stated that they can face death penalty

Yesterday's @UN Security Council meeting on the forced landing of the @Ryanair flight by the regime in Belarus is something we have asked for since May 2021. It's a violation of the basic rules of civil aviation and can encourage other dictators to hijack planes to jail opponents I was glad to see a strong response from the international community. @icao clearly stated:
✔️The regime lied about a bomb threat
✔️It deliberately endangered the safety and lives of those on board
✔️The Chicago Convention was violated

Lukashenka is behind it & must be punished

I support #Ukraine wholeheartedly. But it makes me frustrated when I hear that Belarusians don’t resist & protest. This is the most brutal regime Europe witnessed in decades. It's cynical to tell people to go protest and oust the dictator just like that. Let's stick to the facts: There are now 1342 political prisoners. At least 40,000 were detained since 2020. Hundreds, to say the least, were tortured. Some were killed. Despite that,on Feb 27, tens of thousands of Belarusians protested across the country to support Ukraine. 1000 detained on that day alone

I was denazified until the age of 14 when I started to speak Belarusian every day for the first time. My family is from Ukraine, so naturally, this is not their mother tongue. My Belarusian friends never used it. I never heard it in kindergarten. My first teacher barely knew it My high school - the prominent Yakub Kolas Lyceum - was different. This is where I learned Belarusian and completely switched to it.The regime didn't like the school & closed it. We studied underground. Outside my school, people looked shocked whenever I spoke Belarusian in Minsk

The world has a short memory. In 2020, millions of people were shocked by torture,rapes&killings of protesters in #Belarus.Politicians praised our peacefulness but first serious sanctions were imposed only after Europeans were affected by the forced landing of Ryanair in May 2021 We lost crucial months. The regime felt encouraged to destroy civil society&media, arrested dozens of thousands,pushed the most active abroad. Now,when I am asked why aren’t Belarusians protesting, I want to answer: and are you ready to get tortured or raped with a police baton?