Belarus should not remain an area of Russian monopoly influence. Yevhen Mahda proposes starting a discussion on the joint actions necessary by Belarus's neighbours to ensure favourable transformations in the country.

Belarusian football had a rare spell of global exposure during the coronavirus pandemic of 2020. Fast forward to 2024 and the domestic game seems to be in poor shape. The reasons behind this clear decline are complex, but at the core is political interference and mismanagement.

In February 2024 the Lukashenka regime's actions and rhetoric towards its neighbours became markedly more aggressive. It began military drills and combat readiness checks, sparking discussions about the possibility of Belarus’s direct participation in the Russo-Ukrainian War or its invasion of Lithuania.

Both Ukraine and Belarus have long-standing population worries even though the immediate circumstances are very different. The crises of recent years – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Belarus’s post-2020 political crisis – have only exacerbated those challenges. The EU ambitions of Ukraine and the Belarus opposition must therefore be handled with consideration of each country’s demographic outlook.

On February 25, 2024, the “single voting day” for the national parliament and local councils took place in Belarus. This was likely the least free election in the history of the nation. Politically sterile, with no opposition on the ballot or in the election commissions, Lukashenka is ushering in a process that the democratic opposition calls a “special operation.”