Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya warns of Belarus military infrastructure near NATO borders

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya arrived in Lithuania with a warning: Belarus is building military infrastructure that, she said, a country not preparing for war would not need. She said the construction is taking place not only near Ukraine but also along the European Union’s border.

The Belarusian opposition leader warned that Russia could try to test NATO through Belarus. She cited the construction of various antennas capable of directing Russian drones, new sites for deploying weapons and a growing role for Belarusian companies in producing Russian arms.

“

Our informants in Belarus report that new infrastructure is being created, infrastructure that a country not preparing to fight simply does not need.

People interviewed in Vilnius largely said they did not consider Belarus a friendly country and believed Russia could use its territory against Lithuania. One resident said such a scenario was entirely possible, while another said Belarus was too weak to attack a NATO member and noted that it had not dared to attack Ukraine.

“

This is a new reality. Because of Lukashenko’s dependence on Russia, Russian armed forces use Belarusian territory as a bridgehead both for defense and for possible provocations.

Parliament speaker Juozas Olekas said the responsible services were monitoring the situation and that he did not believe it required major changes. Opposition lawmaker Laurynas Kasčiūnas urged vigilance, saying Russian forces use Belarusian territory as a bridgehead for defense and possible provocations because of President Alexander Lukashenko’s dependence on Moscow.

Other Belarusian opposition figures living in Lithuania took a calmer view, saying Tsikhanouskaya had described developments that were already known, including roads for troops and the formation of a new airborne brigade. Kasčiūnas said Lukashenko becomes more vulnerable to Kremlin pressure during negotiations over gas prices because of his dependence on Gazprom and Russian gas. Those negotiations, he said, have now begun.

“

What we say publicly is only part of what the services know and are preparing for. I do not think this is a situation that requires any special changes.