Well, isn’t that just what this world needs: another mouth in the babble of voices already emanating from the general direction of Russia. There’s Putin, Medvedev, Lavrov, Peskov, Kadyrov . . . and now, not for the first time, Lukashenko. Putin’s Belarusian lapdog, sometimes referred to as “Europe’s Last Dictator” (we wish!), offering his two cents’ worth of advice to Ukraine . . . which is just about what it’s worth.

Ironically, this time he may have judged the situation correctly, at least in part. But what he has chosen to say about it is, as usual, despicable and inflammatory. And we can only hope that the conclusions he has drawn, and the predictions he has made, are just more of his attempts to appear relevant.

This week, speaking at a meeting with representatives of the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant’s labour collective, construction workers, social infrastructure workers, and residents of the city of Ostrovets, he claimed that “Ukraine is already fading into the background as far as the United States is concerned, and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is supposedly preparing to leave the country.” [Ukrainska Pravda, Nov. 3, 2023.]

(The first part of that sentence is, sadly, not completely wrong. The second part is a complete mystery.) – ed.

And continuing: “Ukraine will still be ours. Nobody needs this Ukraine. Trouble brewing in the Middle East . . . I warned him when the war started. I called Zelenskyy and said: ‘Volodya, listen to me. I’m an experienced man, I’ve worked for years. As soon as some trouble begins, you’ll be forgotten.’ And then what happened? Ukraine is now being overshadowed.

“You have to use your head before getting the country involved in some reckless scheme.”

(“Getting involved in”? Is that the same as “being invaded by”?) – ed.

*. *. *

Of course, he had something more to say about the U.S.:

“[The United States is] far away, they are big, they absolutely don’t need this.”

And: “Their policy is to muddy the waters. They like starting something in these muddy waters . . . You know, it’s good fishing in troubled waters. That’s their policy. Everything else is expendable, just like Ukraine today. This is why this region [Ukraine] is our region, in the sense that we will be together.”

(The only thing “muddy” here would seem to be his thought process. He believes Ukraine and Russia belong together because the United States likes to fish in troubled waters? Um . . . okay, then. Although, in all fairness, maybe it’s the translation.) – ed.

*. *. *

Lukashenko also claimed that, sooner or later, “Europe will crawl back to Belarus and Russia [because] the Americans are tearing Europe apart any way they want today. And Europe cannot resist because everything depends on the American market — credit, property, and the rest.”

(I’m trying to imagine Europe “crawl[ing] back to Belarus and Russia.” When was most of Europe there in the first place? Except, of course, for the several Baltic and Eastern European nations that were invaded and dragged into the Soviet Bloc during and after World War II.) – ed.

Continuing: “They [Western politicians] don’t even think about their people. They go to prison once or twice, they steal, pocket their gains and run away somewhere. Just like Zelenskyy is getting ready to run off.” [All quotes as reported by Ukrainska Pravda, Nov. 3, 2023.]

(There’s that reference to Zelensky running away again. I’d be most interested to know where he got that tidbit of “information.”) – ed.

*. *. *

I’ve referred to Putin in an earlier post as “the mouth that roars . . . and roars . . . and roars.” Aleksandr Lukashenko doesn’t measure up to that description; his is the mouth that spews toxic waste. Are these merely the inarticulate ramblings of an ambitious man attempting to curry favor with “the boss” in Moscow? Or is he already in Putin’s circle of favored puppets, doing the boss’ bidding? Whatever he’s trying to accomplish, he’s doing a lousy job of it.

But he is the dictatorial leader of a small nation with big ambitions on the world stage, and a useful part of Putin’s world because of his country’s strategic location. We should be careful not to overlook him while dealing with bigger concerns. The world has made that mistake too many times throughout history. And, at the risk of being boringly repetitious, a reminder: “Those who forget history . . .” You know the rest.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
11/6/23