Lukashenko continues to serve the Kremlin’s military demands, and in this process Belarusians are hostages of crooked terrorists. However, there are nuances. A notable number of Belarusians have pledged allegiance to the Ukrainian people and are fighting with us side by side. Many more continue to support us from emigration.

At the same time, I see a lot of Ukrainian sarcasm towards Belarus, and I cannot say it is unfounded. It is said that Belarusians need to put their shoes back on, at long last. I agree. I also see the outrage of Belarusians who want to be the good guys and avoid responsibility for complicity with the aggression.

The continuing shelling against Ukraine from the territory of Belarus sharpens the question: either Belarusians do something, or we lose our patience. And this leads us to another inconvenient nuance: Moscow wants us to do exactly this. They need to expand the war to Belarus.

Strictly materially, Belarusian involvement will not bring significant changes to the battlefield. A few more dozens of thousands of unmotivated 20th-century soldiers will face joining the front line or running the gauntlet. We can argue whether the Belarusian military has any chances in combat, but the real issue is elsewhere.

The real issue is that the Kremlin wants to enforce blood ties on Belarusians. Like they have been enforcing blood ties on “mobiks” (slang for mobilized civilians) from the occupied Donbas. In order for a partnership between Ukrainians and Belarusians to become impossible forever. If Moscow succeeds at this, it will have catastrophic consequences, and not only for Belarus.

One thing is for an insecure nation to dream of underthrowing a dictator and joining a better world. Something completely different is when this nation sees their men arrive in zinc-lined coffins. Will it drive Belarusians to logical decisions? Unlikely; they will simply grow to hate us.

What can we do about it? Honestly, I have no idea. The invasion [from Belarus] into the North of Ukraine, as we see, has utterly failed. One might hypothesize that the goal was not limited to a blitzkrieg of Kyiv, a parade along the Khreshchatyk and a drunk evening of Gazmanov songs on Maidan Nezalezhnosti.

It is completely possible that it was simultaneously an attempt to provoke our hatred towards Belarusians and, consequentially, destroy any chance of mutual sympathy and aid between our peoples. Now, having acquired confidence in our strength, we must determine what Belarusians constitute for us.

We must keep our minds cool and derive our decisions from more logic and fewer emotions. We must discuss between ourselves what role Belarusians have played in this war, and how to strategically interact with the “neutral” people among them. And this issue is much more complex than “are you with us or against us?” as far as I am concerned.

Original: Дмитро Мрачник. Білорусь — заручник навіжених терористів https://www.nihilist.li/2022/06/27/bilorus-zaruchnik-navizhenih-teroristiv/

/Translation: K0tyk

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