DISINFO: Warsaw and Vilnius are worsening the political crisis in Belarus
SUMMARY
Warsaw and Vilnius were the main sources of subversive activities against Belarus and against its union with Russia. The crisis is largely a man-made, and the “hands” grow from there. And now they are implementing their strategy in order to aggravate the political crisis inside Belarus.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Belarus and the Western attempts to instigate colour revolutions. This message is based on ungrounded claims and a false dilemma about the direction of Belarus's political development. It is consistent with recurring pro-Kremlin narratives about Western aggressiveness towards Belarus and Russia and Polish aggressive intentions in particular, and about Western attempts to disrupt Belarusian-Russian relations. Poland and Lithuania support the independence and territorial integrity of Belarus, and do not have any territorial claims against their neighbours. Poland and Lithuania, as well as the EU, have expressed support to people protesting in Belarus. The protests in Belarus erupted to contest the results of the presidential election in Belarus on the 9th of August, which are considered fraudulent by a large part of Belarusian society. The European Union has said that the elections were neither free nor fair: "State authorities deployed disproportionate and unacceptable violence causing at least one death and many injuries. Thousands of people were detained and the crackdown on freedoms of assembly, media and expression intensified. We call on the Belarusian authorities to release immediately and unconditionally all detained." See similar disinformation cases alleging that the West destroyed the USSR and is currently targeting the Union State between Belarus and Russia and that Belarus faces either normal development under Russia or a forced Polonization and economic devastation, that Russia has neutralised many Western attempts to topple the Belarusian government, the West pursues Maidan policy towards Belarus to encircle Russia, and that Western countries and their domestic puppets aim at crushing Belarusian statehood.