Last summer, in a small town
overlooking the Russian border, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko made
a stark and pointed pronouncement. “If
we don’t survive these years—if we fail,” he said, “it means we will have to
become part of some other state, or they will simply wipe their feet on us. God
forbid they unleash another war, like in Ukraine.”Lukashenko was referring
to Russia.In March 2014,
Russia responded to the ousting of pro-Russia Ukrainian president Victor Yanukovych by annexing Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula. The seizing of Crimea provoked
widespread condemnation from the international community along with a wave of
ongoing sanctions against Russia. Since then, NATO has redoubled its military
presence …read more
Source: The New Republic
