Disinfo: In Belarus, a foreign-backed coup d'état was attempted in which President Lukashenko was to be assassinated

Summary

In Belarus, a foreign-backed coup d'état was attempted in which President Lukashenko was to be assassinated.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin propaganda narrative about Western attempts to organise a coup in Belarus and alleged Western-instigated colour revolutions and coups.

There is no evidence that a coup d’état was attempted in Belarus nor of an assassination attempt on President Alexander Lukashenko.

On 17 April 2021, the Belarusian President claimed that he was the target of a US-backed assassination attempt. No evidence has been provided to support or substantiate this claim and there is currently no evidence that the assassination attempt actually took place.

On the same day as President Lukashenko’s statement, the Russian FSB announced that it had arrested two Belarusian citizens in Moscow, one of whom holds an American passport, accused of an attempted coup d'état and the attempted physical elimination of President Lukashenko.

The two suspects are Yuri Zenkovich, a lawyer, and Alexander Feduta, a researcher and political commentator.

Two other men were arrested in Belarus, one of them the political leader of the Belarusian People's Front (BPF) who ran for president against Lukashenko in 2010.

On 22 April 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly supported the unsubstantiated Belarusian government's theory during his address to the nation, saying that since the West imposed sanctions, the situation was degenerating towards a coup d'état.

The situation in Belarus is unstable following the 2020 parliamentary elections that ended with the victory of Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus since 1994. These elections were assessed by the European Union as having been neither free nor fair, with evidence of intimidation of journalists, political opponents and activists. Nationwide protests and demonstrations ensued, lasting almost 300 days, against which the government intervened with the use of force. All major opposition leaders have been either jailed or forced out of the country.

European sanctions against Belarus have been imposed against 88 individuals and 7 entities including the President and his son. In addition, on 24 May 2021, in a declaration on behalf of the EU on the forced diversion of Ryanair flight FR4978 to Minsk on 23 May 2021, the High Representative called for the immediate release of detained journalist Mr Pratasevich. This was followed by a European Council statement, in which the EU leaders called for targeted individual and economic sanctions as well as a ban on flights over EU airspace by Belarusian airlines as well as preventing these flights from accessing airports in the EU airports.

The U.S. State Department said allegations of U.S. involvement in any such plot were “absolutely false.”

Read similar cases claiming that there was a Western plot to kill Belarusian President Lukashenka, that there is no doubt about Washington's involvement in the attempt to forcefully change the government in Belarus and that the US was preparing an assassination attempt on Lukashenko.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 245
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 24/04/2021
  • Article language(s) Italian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Belarus, US, Russia
  • Keywords: Alexander Lukashenko, Coup, Colour revolutions, West
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Disproof

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Disproof

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Disproof

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