Below you can read the summary and introduction of the EUISS brief.
You can download the full text as a pdf here.
| Summary: Key Findings |
| Although Belarus previously resisted pressure to deepen military cooperation with Russia, after the crackdown on the protests that followed the 2020 presidential election Alexander Lukashenka has displayed less reluctance to engage in closer cooperation, indicating his growing dependence on Moscow. |
| Military cooperation between Russia and Belarus comprises multilateral dimensions, including within the institutional framework of the CSTO, and bilateral dimensions, in particular in the framework of the Union State of Russia and Belarus. |
| Russia has long been pushing Belarus to host a permanent military base. In March 2021 Lukashenka finally agreed to the presence of a joint Belarusian-Russian military unit, including combat-capable Russian forces. › Since 2020 joint Russian-Belarusian military manoeuvres have increased significantly. The Union Resolve 2022 exercise saw the largest ever Russian deployment of troops and weaponry to Belarus. This massive deployment proved to be the prelude to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a war in which Belarus is currently playing an active role. |
| The intensification of Russian-Belarusian military cooperation has serious regional implications, including for the EU’s Eastern Partnership initiative. |
Since 24 February 2022 Belarus has been an active enabler of Russia’s war against Ukraine. The present Brief examines the background to this and analyses how military cooperation between Russia and Belarus has developed since 2020. Back then, following the brutal crackdown on the protests contesting the results of the fraudulent presidential elections, Belarus became almost completely isolated from the West. As a result, Minsk’s dependence on Russia increased substantially, because political, security, logistical and financial support from Russia became vital for the survival of Lukashenka’s regime.
The Brief is composed of four main parts. The first section provides an overview of the main characteristics of Russia-Belarus military cooperation before the events of 2020. The second part charts the most important changes that have taken place in the last one and a half years, focusing on the increasingly frequent joint exercises and operations held by the Russian and Belarusian armed forces, the stationing of Russian troops in Belarus, and the deployment of Belarusian soldiers in Russian-led missions abroad,
