- The McLaughlin Group
Alexander Lukashenko gives Russia the green light to save him and steal Belarus
Contributor: Tom Rogan
Facing popular protests across Belarus in response to his Aug. 9 election theft, Belorussian President Alexander Lukashenko has invited Russia to save him and steal his nation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin views the incorporation of Belarus into Russia as a top priority. And with Lukashenko now requesting security assistance, Putin has new leverage to extract his own concessions from the dictator. Senior leaders and operations officers from the Russian Federal Security Service landed in Minsk, Belarus, on Tuesday evening, and Russia is moving military assets toward its Belorussian border. The Russians sense opportunity, here, in the absence of warnings from the Trump administration and the European Union against their interference.