A video of an electronic advertisement at a bus terminal in Belarus calling men of serve-age age to move to a means of enlistment has led to the hypothesis about mobilization in the country whose leader is a close friend of Vladimir Putin.
The call appears on a virtual poster hung on the balcony of the first floor of the waiting room of the boarding center of the city of Barysau (Barysaw), in the Minsk region, about forty-five miles northeast of the capital.
The Russian virtual text on the screen reads: “All male citizens between the ages of 18 and 60 will be required to present themselves at the registration workplace or village executive committee to explain their details. “
The clip, which as of Wednesday afternoon had garnered more than 157,000 views, was tweeted via Hanna Liubakova, a Minsk journalist and non-resident member of the Atlantic Council think tank, who added the message: “What is this?”
Twitter user MarqS, who tweets about Ukraine to more than 100,000 followers, wrote in a thread below the video that the call may be related to ongoing military training in Belarus.
“Once again, many think that the (general) mobilization will start in Russia until tomorrow, also in Belarus?”Other Twitter users have also expressed fears that this could mean a mobilization of the Belarusian population.
“I hope others have the strength to oppose Lukashenko,” one user wrote, amid considerations about the role the country’s leader, Alexander Lukashenko, could play in the invasion of Ukraine through his ally, Russian President Vladimir Putin. .
#Biélorussie The announcement at Barysau bus station: “All male citizens between the ages of 18 and 60 shall report to a registration workplace or village executive committee to explain their details. What’s that?pic. twitter. com/H4NgSJsj2p
Belarus has been used as a platform for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, although so far Lukashenko has avoided more direct Belarusian involvement in the war.
However, tensions rose again last week, when Belarus accused Ukraine of shooting down a missile on its border, suggesting the incident may just be a provocation through the Ukrainian armed forces.
Although the Belarusian government announced that there were no mobilization plans, the procedure for verifying the eligibility of the army in the country began in October 2022, Liubakova told Newsweek. It involved summoning Belarusian men to army registration and enlistment offices by mail or telephone.
“The announcement at a bus station is new, but it looks like a way to drag other people to the enlistment offices,” Liubakova said.
Belarus’ Defense Ministry said in October that an annual baseline check of those facing military service would be carried out until the end of the year, but that no mobilization events would take place.
Liubakova said that in December, “propaganda and announcements gave the impression of posters and videos asking men to report to exam registration offices,” suggesting the procedure had dragged on.
“This can be interpreted as a prospective preparation for a long-term mobilization,” Liubakova told Newsweek. “However, today there are no signs of the start of a genuine mobilization in Belarus, we cannot exclude such a scenario. “
“For the Belarusian and Russian regimes, the deployment of Belarusian troops without motivation can mean instability in the country. “
There is a lot of anti-Western propaganda in Belarus, which the regime is looking at to make it look like there are NATO troops on its border in position to invade, Liubakova said. . “
Putin has deployed army apparatus and troops to Belarus and Lukashenko is relying on his best friend for his political survival, especially after a disputed 2020 election condemned around the world as rigged.
Despite the presidents’ symbiotic relationship, Franak Viačorka, a senior political adviser to Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, told Newsweek in December that Belarus’ direct involvement in the war in the short term was “very low. “
However, Viačorka said Lukashenko would still provide airfields, territorial intelligence and others to his only ally. Newsweek reached out to Belarus’ Foreign Ministry for comment.
Join newsletters from one million Newsweek readers