Belarus Weekly: Minsk summons EU, Ukrainian diplomats over alleged drone incursion from Ukraine

Minsk summons EU , Ukrainian diplomats, addresses UN , OSCE over alleged drone incursion from Ukraine .

Belarusian Foreign Ministry summoned EU and Ukrainian diplomats after claiming Ukrainian drones entered Belarus on Aug. 9 and were allegedly downed by the Belarusian military.

Ukraine ’s Charge d’Affaires to Belarus Olha Tymush was given a “strong warning” that Ukraine should not commit “provocations”.

Western states, including the United States , Canada , and the U.K. , introduced new sanctions against the regime of Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko and Belarusian military-related companies.

At least 37 people have been convicted for sharing photos and videos of the Russian military in Belarus with the media, according to the Viasna Human Rights Group .

The U.S. sanctions were a response to the regime’s “blatantly corrupt, destabilizing, and anti-democratic acts”.

Author Hennadz Korshunau , former director of Belarus’ National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Sociology , said that repressions in Belarus will likely continue at least until the end of the 2025 election campaign.

In the second quarter of 2024 , Belarusian courts branded a record number of independent media and other content providers as “extremist” with over 350 trials being held, as opposed to the average of 170 per quarter .