The Provision of Belarusian Territory for Russia's Military Aggression Was a Deliberate and Conscious Step by the Regime
"It was precisely the invasion of Russian troops from Belarusian territory that made possible the fighting near Kyiv, and the large-scale crimes against civilians in Bucha, Irpin, Hostomel, and other towns of the Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, and Zhytomyr regions," said Deputy Head of the National Anti-Crisis Management, Artsiom Brukhan, during a special event held as part of the "New Belarus" Conference — "The Role of Belarus in the Aggression against Ukraine: Holding the Top Leadership of the Lukashenko Regime Accountable" — organized by the NAM and the Cabinet's Office for the Transfer of Power.
As part of the event, a presentation was held — "Factual Circumstances: Documenting Belarus's Role in the Aggression" — with the participation of Artsiom Brukhan; Executive Director of iSANS Uladzimir Kobets; BELPOL representative Uladzimir Zhygar; Head of the International Security Programme at the Polish Institute of International Affairs Anna Maria Dyner; and Rochan Consulting analyst Konrad Skarupa.
"In light of the establishment of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, comprehensive documentation of information is especially important, as it will allow for an objective legal assessment of the actions of those responsible for this crime."
In his remarks, Artsiom Brkchan spoke about the work the NAM is doing to document information on the Lukashenko regime's commission of an act of aggression, outlining the methodology of the work, the structure of the documented information, as well as the chronology of events and actions by Belarus's leadership that led to aggression against Ukraine being launched from Belarusian territory.
"The documentation is based on an open-source investigation methodology adapted to international standards for collecting and preserving digital evidence used in international criminal justice.
Each episode is compiled as a separate case file, including the source material, its preserved copies in independent formats, and a documentation protocol." The protocol records information confirming the origin and manner in which the information was obtained.
The presentation noted that particular attention is paid to sources such as:
legal and regulatory acts adopted by Russia and Belarus, including within the framework of the Union State;
official statements by the top political and military leadership of Belarus and Russia;
public statements by military personnel;
independent commercial geospatial imagery.
"The purpose of the documentation is not only to record facts, but also to establish a causal link between the documented circumstances and specific officials."
The structure of the documented information was also presented separately. The corresponding case files can be divided into 7 categories.
Artsiom Brukhan also presented a chronology of Belarus's aggression against Ukraine:
"The facts we have gathered and documented today give grounds to believe that the starting point in planning Belarus's act of aggression against Ukraine was the meeting between Alexander Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 29, 2021." During that meeting, Lukashenko for the first time and unexpectedly floated, as his personal proposal, the holding of exercises that were later named "Union Resolve 2022" and that ultimately culminated in the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops from Belarusian territory. Putin, for his part, presented these exercises as already agreed upon and named the timeframe for their conduct — February–March 2022.
The next recorded event took place on January 18, 2022, when Belarus's Ministry of Defence officially announced for the first time a readiness check of the Union State's response forces, stating it would take place in two stages: troop redeployment and force buildup until February 9; and the joint exercise "Union Resolve 2022" from February 10–20. The main training grounds and airfields were named.
"I would like to state that the chronology of actions by Belarus's top military-political leadership, the recorded information and statements, leave no doubt as to the deliberate and conscious nature of the actions taken by the leadership of the Lukashenko regime in providing Belarusian territory for Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine."
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