Pavel Latushka, Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus, Head of the National Anti-Crisis Management, Ambassador
Recently, the dictator has begun discussing his significant role in the post-war future and has complained that Vladimir Zelensky has been "bullying" him and "getting him involved in incomprehensible processes." Well, how is it that the main "peacekeeper" in the region is suddenly involved in something incomprehensible? Let's try to help Lukashenko understand what these "incomprehensible processes" are.
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Belarus, with Lukashenko's consent and full support, became a launchpad for the attack on the Kyiv region.
Perhaps Lukashenko still doesn't grasp the implications? In this case, the UN General Assembly Resolution of December 14, 1974, specifically adopted to define acts of aggression, can come to his aid. Specifically, Article 3, paragraph f of this Resolution states that an act of aggression, among other things, will be classified as "an act of a state allowing its territory, which it has made available to another state, to be used by that other state to commit an act of aggression against a third state."
The invasion from Belarus into Ukraine, facilitated by the Lukashenko regime, is an act of aggression. Providing Belarusian territory and infrastructure for over 800 missile attacks on Ukrainian territory is an act of aggression.
Aggression is one of the four most serious crimes under international law. They are all listed in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court:
Genocide;
Crimes against humanity;
War crimes;
Crime of aggression.
Lukashenko has committed at least three out of these four crimes. Potentially, all four if we consider the Resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, adopted in April of last year, which addressed the deportation and forced transfer of Ukrainian children and other civilians from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. In this resolution, the Parliamentary Assembly called Lukashenko complicit in these war crimes and called for him to be held accountable. Additionally, it characterized these crimes as having indications of genocide.
In January 2024, as a follow-up to this resolution, a new resolution was adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly on the situation with children in Ukraine. It once again highlighted the role of the Lukashenko regime in committing the aforementioned crimes and called on Council of Europe member countries to recognize the deportation of Ukrainian children as genocide.
In addition to crimes against Ukraine, from May 2020 to May 2023, according to a report by the Justice Hub Center for Law and Democracy, at least 136,000 Belarusian men, women, and minors fell victim to crimes against humanity committed by the Lukashenko regime. These crimes continue to be perpetrated to this day.
The crime of aggression persists, just as the war crimes of the Lukashenko regime do. His complicity in the war and his assistance to Russia in circumventing sanctions also continue.
What Lukashenko refers to as "incomprehensible processes" have clear definitions. These are grave international crimes. The dictator and his accomplices will be held accountable for each of them. These are not incomprehensible matters, but specific criminal cases.