Belarusian exiles unite to defend Ukraine and warn their country’s forces gathered along the northern border to stay at home or join their side in the “freedom fight”
- The exiles created a special unit of the Ukrainian army to protect Kyiv
- This happened after dozens of Belarusians poured into the country to join the battle.
- Their leaders warned the Belarusian military to stay at home or join them.
- Putin’s ally Lukashenko hosted Russian troops ahead of the invasion
Belarusian emigrants formed the first unit of foreign fighters to take over Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelenskya call for a new international brigade to join their war against Russia.
A special unit has been created in the Ukrainian army, which is fighting to protect the capital. Kyiv after dozens of Belarusians poured into the country to join the battle.
Their leaders have warned Belarusian troops amassed on Ukraine’s northern border to either stay at home or join their side “fighting for freedom” against the Russian president. Vladimir Putin and his ally Alexander Lukashenka In Minsk.
Lukashenko hosted the Russian invasion force and allowed his land to be used for missile launches. The veteran dictator has come to rely on Putin since the crackdown on pro-democracy protests following a disputed presidential election two years ago.
Belarusian émigrés formed the first unit of foreign fighters to take up arms on Ukraine’s side after President Volodymyr Zelensky urged a new international brigade to join their war against Russia. In the photo: The unit stands with white and red flags of Belarus
Some dissidents have fled to Ukraine, but after warnings from US defense officials, there have been fears that Lukashenko could send troops across the border to fight alongside Putin’s military, despite the despot’s firm denials on Friday.
Now Yan Melnikov, who is fighting for the airfield in Vasylkiv near Kiev, has announced that he is leading the first unit of foreign volunteers in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which includes more than 50 recruits from his country.
“We call on all Belarusians who have the desire to fight shoulder to shoulder with Ukrainians for the common ideals of freedom and the value of sovereignty to join us,” he said in a video posted by the nationalist Azov Battalion.
He was surrounded by seven more armed Belarusian militants. There have also been speculations on social media that people fighting the Lukashenko regime are sabotaging rail and telephone communications to thwart the military effort.
Zelensky urged foreigners to join their fight over the weekend when he announced the creation of a new military unit, the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine, to fight Putin. “This is the beginning of a war against Europe,” he said.
Several British volunteers have indicated their intention , although Boris Johnson has warned that they could be charged with terrorism upon their return. It is believed that at least one Briton was surrounded in heavy fighting around the port of Mariupol.
Melnikov, a veteran of an eight-year conflict with pro-Moscow separatists in eastern Ukraine, said the 30 Belarusian comrades in Ukraine were joined by newcomers who arrived last week in a unit that fights as part of the Territorial Defense Forces, made up of military reservists.
“We share the same concept of freedom as the Ukrainian people,” he said. “But today Belarus is occupied by pro-Russian forces with a government completely under their control. Belarusian freedom depends on the freedom of Ukraine.”
Pictured: Vadim Kabanchuk, a member of the Ukrainian army’s special forces unit, who fights to defend the capital Kyiv after dozens of Belarusians poured into the country to join the battle.
Other prominent Minsk activists reported that more than 200 Belarusians joined other units of the territorial defense forces in support of Kyiv.
Two of them posted a video message to Belarusian soldiers “not to follow Lukashenka’s criminal orders”, instead urging them to make the “moral choice” to stay at home or, alternatively, flee to Ukraine.
“Guys, this is not your war, stay at home. If it happens that you are sent to Ukraine, turn yourself in as soon as possible,” said former political prisoner Vadim Kabanchuk and former business owner Vadim Prokopiev. “Make the right choice”.
Prokopiev, who arrived from Warsaw in a seven-car convoy on Monday, said Belarusian recruits have been streaming across the Polish border in recent days to join exiles already in Ukraine.
“The fate of Belarus will be decided in this battle between the Russian world and the free people of Ukraine. This is our battlefield too. If we win here, Lukashenka’s days are numbered.”
Putin brazenly claims to be “ridding Ukraine of neo-Nazis” despite little support from the far right in the country
Chris Jewers for MailOnline
In a bizarre and historically incorrect address last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was “ridding Ukraine” of “neo-Nazis” by invading.
Like all countries, Ukraine is not free from far-right groups. However, they enjoy little support from the public.
In the last general election in 2019, when President Volodymyr Zelensky came to power with over 70 percent of the vote, the Ukrainian far right received a humiliating 2 percent.
As a result, far-right groups failed to reach the 5% minimum required to enter parliament.
Moreover, despite Putin’s shocking comments, Zelenskiy himself is a Jew whose family tree includes people who fled the clutches of Nazi Germany and the horrors of the Holocaust.
However, concerns have been raised about neo-Nazis and the rise of the far right in Ukraine, with the nationalist Azov Battalion now part of the national military.
The issue was brought up again when it was revealed that the great-grandmother, pictured with an AK-47 in preparation for the invasion, had learned to use the weapon in a group.
Valentina Konstantinovskaya, 79, holds a weapon during basic combat training for civilians organized by the Azov Special Forces Unit of the National Guard of Ukraine, in Mariupol, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Sunday, February 13, 2022.
The Azov Battalion is accused of neo-Nazism and attacks on LBTQ and Roma communities.
Putin now appears to be peddling a conspiracy that has intensified since last November, possibly using the Azov Battalion as a scapegoat to drum up domestic support for his war.
Keir Giles, a country expert who wrote a NATO report on its information warfare, told the BBC that Russia is “quick to label its adversaries and victims in Europe as Nazis.”
On the website, he added: “We saw this not only in Ukraine, but also in Russia’s vilification of the Baltics.”