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Pavel Latushka with Adam Krzywosąd, Deputy Director of the Department of Global Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland. Warsaw, Poland, 2025. Photo: NAM-Media "The regime in Belarus has absolutely no political will to change its repressive policies". noted Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet and Head of the NAM, Pavel Latushka, during a meeting with Adam Krzywosąd, Deputy Director of the Department of Global Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland. "The third Universal Periodic Review  presented on November 3 in Geneva within the UN Human Rights Council, which addressed the human rights situation in Belarus, and the lack of response from the Lukashenko regime to more than 220 international recommendations on policy changes in the field of human rights, as well as the withdrawal from a number of international human rights treaties, indicate the regime’s desire only to continue and intensify repression ", emphasized Pavel Latushka. During the meetings, Pavel Latushka paid particular attention to the issue of extraterritorial persecution of Belarusians residing in Poland . Issues of cooperation with Poland within the Group of Friends of Democratic Belarus at the OSCE  were discussed separately. The meeting included a detailed analysis and presentation of positions regarding the possible use of international legal accountability mechanisms  for human rights violations in Belarus and transnational crimes against Belarusians abroad . Pavel Latushka also provided information about the proactive persecution by the regime of Belarusian democratic activists abroad . A representative of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that Poland would support Belarusian civil society  in matters of protecting and restoring human rights and would assist in collecting evidence of illegal actions  committed against Belarusians. "The fact that Poland is one of the leading allies of the democratic forces of Belarus in human rights matters is an important signal of support  in our work on the use of international mechanisms and instruments to achieve justice for victims of unprecedented repression committed by the Lukashenko regime, both in Belarus and abroad", emphasized Pavel Latushka.

Illustrative photo The US has decided to suspend sanctions against three state-private aircraft belonging to Lukashenko as well as to exclude one personal aircraft of the dictator and the Belavia airline from the sanctions lists. The lifting of sanctions on Lukashenko's state-private aircraft and Belavia is only an isolated example, and not a significant weakening of sanctions pressure. Belavia is one of many entities that have fallen under US restrictions. Its exclusion from the sanctions list does not reduce the great potential for pressure  at Washington’s disposal. Almost a hundred Belarusian legal entities and hundreds of individuals are under US sanctions.  The US sanctions packages include enterprises  from sectors that are key to the regime : Financial sector; Logistics and transport; Mechanical engineering; IT and high technologies; Metallurgy; Woodworking; Oil and gas complex; Civil aviation; Fertilizers; Chemical industry; Cement industry and construction; Tobacco and light industry; Military-industrial complex; State bodies and law enforcement agencies; Sport and public organizations. Among them are system-forming giants : Naftan, Belneftekhim concern, Grodno Azot, Belaruskali, BelAZ, Belvnesheconombank, Belinvestbank, Slavkali, Belshina, Bank Dabrabyt, Bank Trade Capital, BMZ, MZKT, Minsk Automobile Plant, Amkodor. These are not just companies; they are the basis of the country's export revenues and currency liquidity . Their presence under sanctions means that the US retains a powerful instrument of pressure , more significant than the restrictions on the dictator's state-private aircraft and the national air carrier. The "Sword of Damocles" of sanctions continues to hang over Lukashenko. The US still has at its disposal a whole range of powerful levers of pressure on Lukashenko. It is important for the Cabinet, and we uphold this position, that these tools are applied consistently and strategically , so that the “Sword of Damocles” of American sanctions remains over the regime until Lukashenko meets the key conditions for their removal — including those that the democratic forces have already conveyed to American partners. This refers to the unconditional release of all political prisoners , as demanded by US President Donald Trump, the complete cessation of political repression , the decriminalization of socio-political life in Belarus , and the cessation of extraterritorial persecution of Belarusians abroad . Until these demands are met, it is important for us that the pressure on the dictator is not only maintained but is also considered a guarantee  that the regime will move from imitation of changes to real steps . The 'Golden Sanctions Share' is in the EU's hands It should be emphasized: the measures of pressure most tangible for the regime  — the 'Golden Sanctions Share'  — are in the hands of the EU. As long as the regime does not change its internal repressive policy  — does not stop political violence and does not begin a real dialogue with society — Lukashenko should not count on the lifting of European sanctions  — we convey this to our European partners. While welcoming the actions of the US regarding the release of political prisoners, it is important that the EU adheres to a principled position  on the issue of lifting sanctions. In our opinion, at the moment, a strategy of two forces and directions  should be applied towards the regime: Use US sanctions  to ensure the release of all political prisoners and the cessation of repression; EU sanctions  to compel the regime to implement systemic changes  in its domestic and foreign policy. I welcome the decision of US President Donald Trump to nominate John Coale  for the position of US Special Envoy for Belarus . I hope that the US, using its global leadership and sanctions leverage , will be able to assist in the release of all political prisoners in Belarus without exception , and will support the Belarusian democratic forces in resolving the deep internal political crisis  in the country. Belarusian Legal Entities Remaining Under US Sanctions (SDN List) Finance and Banks JSC Belvnesheconombank JSC Bank Dabrabyt  CJSC Trade Bank Capital JSC Sberbank CJSC VTB Bank JSC Belinvestbank LLC Belinvest-Engineering CJSC BelBusinessLeasing Logistics, Transport, and Services LLC Ulate Logistic LLC Ruzekspeditsiya LLC Bremino Group RUE Beltamozhservice LLC Belkaztrans State Enterprise Tsentrkurort LLC Sohra Fertilizers JSC Grodno Azot JSC Belaruskali  JSC Belarusian Potash Company JLLC Slavkali Oil and Gas Sector CJA BELNEFTEGAZ  Concern Belneftekhim  JSC Naftan UE Belarusian Oil Trade House  UE Oil Bitumen Plant CJSC New Oil Company CJSC Energo-Oil LLC Interservice Chemical Industry JSC Belshina  JSC Polotsk-Steklovolokno JSC Lakokraska  JSC Belarusgumatekhnika Woodworking Concern BELLESBUMPROM Metallurgy JSC Belarusian Steel Works CJA Discoms Cement Industry and Construction RUE Holding Belarusian Cement Company  JLLC Dana Astra LLC Dubai Water Front LLC Belinte-Roba LLC Emirates Blue Sky  Mechanical Engineering and Equipment Manufacturing JSC BelAZ — Management Company of the BelAZ-Holding Holding JSC MZKT  JSC Minsk Automobile Plant JSC Amkodor JSC Agat — Control Systems  JSC Agat — Electromechanical Plant JSC Planar  JSC Tekhnika Svyazi JSC Legmash Plant JSC StankoGomel  LLC Mot UPNPP Tekhnolit  IT and High Technologies LLC Synesis  LLC KB Unmanned Helicopters JSC Scientific-Research Institute of Electronic Computing Machines LLC KB Unmanned Helicopters Additive Technologies Laboratory LLC KB Unmanned Helicopters InaTech Solutions  BSVT New Technologies  LLC 24X7 Panoptes

Lukashenko during the ceremony opening the bridge over the Pripyat River. Mozyr, November 6, 2025. Source: president.gov.by On November 6 in Mozyr, during the ceremony opening the renovated bridge over the Pripyat River, Lukashenko said a phrase that could have seemed harmless, if not for its full context: "I have always asked one thing from you — give me the economy. Give me bridges, roads, milk, meat, and so on. And military matters — those are my responsibilities, security — my responsibility, I will handle them". It sounds almost like an order. "Give me"  is not a request but a demand, addressed not to subordinate ministries, but to the entire nation. The people — the suppliers; the ruler — the consumer. In this rhetoric, one can hear an old occupational motif: the authorities demand, and the population must comply. Hearing such a demand from a dictator, "Give me" , immediately recalls stories and films from World War II, when German soldiers entering Belarusian villages said almost the same — only without political disguise. "Eggs, milk, meat, bread"  — they demanded from the peasants. There was no request, only an order. Back then, under the occupiers, this was called requisition; now, under Lukashenko — it is called "supporting the economy". Yes, the Belarusian economy under the "economist" Lukashenko, to put it mildly, is not gaining momentum, and is rather slowing down. The industrial sector, once the pride of Belarus and the engine of GDP, has today become the main brake on the economy: industrial output in current prices for the first nine months of this year fell by 0.8% compared to the same period last year. Agricultural production fell by 1% compared to the same period last year. The trade deficit in goods for January–September reached $4.5 billion. The month before, imports exceeded exports by $3.8 billion. Belarus is buying more and selling less. And Lukashenko is desperately short of money to maintain his seized power. That is why his rhetoric becomes increasingly arrogant and demanding — "Give me". And what, in return, does the dictator offer the people of Belarus for "bridges, roads, milk, and meat" ? Does he offer increased social benefits, lower taxes, or reduced utility bills? No — quite the opposite. Social guarantees are shrinking, while taxes and utility payments are rising. Lukashenko has reached such a level of cynicism toward the population that in the draft law on the 2026 state budget, he included fines collection 27% higher than this year. He plans to fine Belarusians for a total of 310.3 million rubles. Think about it! The dictator has already planned that next year every resident, from newborns to pensioners and people with disabilities — according to his statistics, Belarus has 9.1 million residents — will inevitably violate some rule and pay a fine averaging 34 rubles. Effectively, Lukashenko is budgeting planned punishment for citizens. At the same time, spending on security forces — Ministry of Internal Affairs, KGB, courts — is growing. In other words, the state spends less on people and more on controlling them. Today’s regime in Belarus operates on the same principle as the occupiers during the war. Only Belarus was never attacked, and no one plans to, yet Lukashenko persistently transmits and instills fear. Security rhetoric becomes central. It turns every complaint into a threat, every citizen into a suspect. Under the slogan "I am responsible for security", Lukashenko justifies growing spending on the security apparatus and pressure on society. Belarus has been turned into an internal occupation zone. The regime lives off the population, and the population is obliged to "give" — work, endure, remain silent. Everything else is a "security matter"  into which one should not interfere. Just like during the occupation years, fear replaces law, and obedience replaces freedom and dignity. Dictatorship is always built on the dependence of the population. It creates nothing — it consumes. Its "economy"  is based not on creation, but on coercion. It demands loyalty instead of initiative, obedience instead of trust. "Give me the economy",  says Lukashenko, and this is not an economic slogan, but an admission of the essence of the regime: the people exist to feed his power. Remember, in October 2020, a general strike was planned. At the checkpoint of the Grodno Azot plant, riot police and OMON were stationed. People were forced to work, with shouts behind them: "Go to work, you are our food base". This phrase, like the dictator’s statement about "give me the economy",  is not a slip of the tongue but a program. It communicates the idea that only Lukashenko can make decisions, and everyone else must provide. This creates psychological dependence in society, when people get used to thinking that initiative is dangerous, and independence is punishable. When Lukashenko demonstratively places himself above the people, dividing them: "You build, I command",  — he turns the country into his personal garrison. And just as occupiers once took the peasants’ last possessions under the pretext of war, today the dictatorship sucks out the country’s strength, money, and future, justifying it as “security.” The only difference is that occupiers left, while dictators do not. They remain until the people stop "giving"  and demand their right to life, work, and their country back. We often think that liberation begins with elections or democratic slogans. But it begins with refusing to give by command. With the realization that "the economy"  is not power, but people, their energy, labor, and initiative. As long as the population is perceived as a food base for the regime, no reforms are possible. Internal occupation ends when society stops being an object and becomes a subject — when Belarusians say: "Enough of giving. It’s time to claim what is ours".