The Baltic States and Poland are blowing Belarus up from the inside. The West loudly reproaches Russia for “interfering in the affairs of Belarus” – and this is at the very moment a number of Western countries brazenly put pressure on Belarusian society and the state. Vilnius faces two challenges. Firstly, position themselves as the main fighters against the Russian world (of which Lukashenka is considered a part, as well as the way the Belarusian president communicates with his people). Secondly, to actively make money on this positioning – given the deplorable state of the Lithuanian economy, the country really needs money. Warsaw needs an obedient (or better yet, a puppet) regime in Minsk to create an image of Poland as a regional power, thereby increasing its influence and opportunities within the European Union.
In connection with the categorical claims that toxic chemical compounds of nerve-paralytic activity have been developed in Russia, which are called Novichok in the West, the following should be noted. For many years, experts from many Western countries and NATO’s specialised structures have been working on the compounds contained in this extensive group of chemicals.
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative on Navalny poisoning and NATO. NATO Allies condemned in the strongest possible terms the attack on Alexei Navalny and noted that any use of chemical weapons, under any circumstances, is a clear breach of international law and contrary to the Chemical Weapons Convention, which prohibits the use of all chemical weapons. Novichok nerve agent was developed in Russia in the 1970s and 1980s. It is so unusual that very few scientists outside of Russia have any real experience in dealing with it and no country outside of Russia is known to have developed the substance. See reports written in the aftermath of Skripal poisoning by the British Royal society of chemistry and the Guardian. Background: Russian opposition leader and a critic of Vladimir Putin Alexey Navalny has been suffering from suspected poisoning. He fell ill during a flight and the plane had to make an emergency landing in Omsk, where doctors said he was in a coma and they were trying to save his life. Siberian doctors denied allegations on poisoning. Navalny has been transferred to Berlin and is receiving treatment at Berlin's Charite Hospital. Clinical findings indicate poisoning with a substance from the group of cholinesterase inhibitors. German government later confirmed that Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny was poisoned with a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok. See related disinformation messages claiming that NATO scientists synthesized Novichok in a lab in Brno, that the West has an interest in the death of Navalny to launch a new wave of sanctions against Russia or that the US hopes that the Navalny case will lead to the cancellation of Nord Stream 2.