Address by Pavel Latushka on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the start of Russia's full-scale aggression against Ukraine

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Pavel Latushka: Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus, Representative of the Cabinet for the Transition of Power, Head of the National Anti-Crisis Management, Leader of the "Latushka Team and the Movement 'For Freedom'" faction within the 3rd convocation of the Coordination Council.

Dear Belarusians! Dear Ukrainians!

Today marks the fourth anniversary of the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Four years ago, the aggressors — Russia and the Lukashenko regime — planned to seize Kyiv in three days and eliminate Ukrainian statehood. Yet today we see: Ukraine has held firm and continues its heroic struggle. The main lesson of these four years for all of us is to never surrender, never lose heart, and never for a moment succumb to lying propaganda.

At the same time, we must recognise: the scale of this war and the advance on Kyiv were made possible precisely through the complicity of the Lukashenko regime. Even before the invasion began, he cynically lied to the Ukrainian side, claiming that Belarus had nothing to do with the concentration of troops. In reality, he had already deliberately granted the Kremlin the right to use our territory, our infrastructure, and our airspace for military purposes. In doing so, he painted a target on our country with his own hands, making every Belarusian a hostage to his betrayal.

Today this threat is only growing. In his recent interview, President Zelensky stated directly: Belarus is at serious risk. The deployment on our soil of Russian relay stations for guiding Shaheds, the operation of Belarusian factories supplying the Russian military machine, and the preparation of sites for Oreshnik missile systems — these are steps that are turning Belarus into a direct military target. Lukashenko has definitively stripped himself of agency: he no longer makes decisions in the interests of the Belarusian people, but merely executes Kremlin orders without thought.

Lukashenko will inevitably be held accountable for his crimes. The National Anti-Crisis Management is conducting systematic work to ensure that every fact is documented: from the crime of aggression through the provision of territory for the attack, to complicity in the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children from occupied territories. We will do everything to ensure that Lukashenko is held accountable for his crimes. This is the path to justice, without which genuine peace is impossible.

Through his actions, Lukashenko is attempting to destroy permanently the relationship between the Belarusian and Ukrainian peoples, and is turning Belarus into an isolated military appendage of the Russian empire.

We must therefore understand: genuine and lasting peace between Belarus and Ukraine is possible only without Lukashenko. True peace means relations between two sovereign, democratic states that respect each other's independence. Lukashenko is incapable of ensuring this, because he himself is an instrument of the destruction of Belarusian sovereignty and security. His policy leads us all into a dead end — toward a future without statehood, without security, into isolation and poverty.

President Zelensky rightly observed: had the Belarusian people's protest prevailed in 2020, our entire region would be safe today. This is a bitter but important shared conclusion: lack of freedom and dictatorship inevitably lead to aggression. The connection between our freedom and the security of the entire region has never been clearer than it is today.

That is precisely why we speak with particular respect of every Belarusian who has chosen the path of resistance. We are proud of our volunteers who are defending Ukrainian soil with arms in hand, and of our volunteers who are bringing the moment of justice closer. We remember the heroes held in Lukashenko's prisons for resisting this bloody war. Your courage is proof that Belarus is not Lukashenko. You are the real Belarus, which has the right to a future.

Ukraine continues to fight, showing the whole world an example of indomitability. So too our path remains unchanged: it is the struggle against dictatorship, for democratic change, and for the return of a free Belarus to the European family of nations. Only a democratic Belarus will become a reliable guarantee that rockets will never again fly from our soil toward the cities of our neighbours.

Glory to Ukraine! Long live Belarus!

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