Can Europe feel safe after the "Zapad-2025" exercises?

"The Zapad-2025 exercises have ended, and many may feel tempted to breathe a sigh of relief. Can Europe feel safe again? Unfortunately, the answer is simple and grim: no, it cannot", noted Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet, head of the NAM, Pavel Latushka, during a meeting with students from more than 30 countries at the College of Europe in Natolin.

The College of Europe, established on the initiative of the Hague Congress, traces its history back to 1949 and is the oldest higher education institution specializing in European studies. The College educates students from more than 30 countries around the world, who already hold master’s degrees in economics, law, political science, and history.

As a special guest of the College of Europe, Pavel Latushka explained how the dictator Lukashenko, by initiating the creation of the so-called Union State, gave Russia an instrument to deprive Belarus of sovereignty and independence, and also provided students with a detailed overview of the current situation in Belarus and the potential threats to security and stability in Europe posed by the Lukashenko regime.

Discussing the threats posed by the "Zapad-2025" exercises, Pavel Latushka noted that Russia used the "Caucasus-2008" exercises to attack Georgia, the "Zapad-2013" exercises as a cover to gather Russian troops later used to seize Crimea and deploy sabotage groups in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. After the "Zapad-2021" exercises, the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, including from Belarusian territory.

"What unites all these examples? None of these attacks took place directly during the exercises. There was always a pause after which the exercises turned into real military actions. This tactic makes any military exercises near a border a potential threat", noted Pavel Latushka.

The head of the NAM also spoke about the large-scale provocation by Russia and the Lukashenko regime, during which 19 drones entered Polish airspace, including from Belarusian territory, and explained to students the goals of this joint operation by Russia and Lukashenko.

During the meeting, students were very interested in the situation in Belarus and spent more than an hour asking Pavel Latushka questions about security in our region, political prisoners, and how Europe and other democratic countries can help in our struggle for a free, democratic, and independent Belarus.

This was yet another lecture by Pavel Latushka as a special guest at the College of Europe on the topic of the situation in Belarus and around it. Previously, in July, the Deputy Head of the Cabinet spoke to 40 young diplomats from EU member states and EU candidate countries.

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