Lukashenka breaks tradition by attending Victory Day Parade in Moscow despite recent events

Lukashenka and Putin have spent the last few days apart from each other, which is typical for the May holidays, where each autocrat usually has his own show and agenda. However, Lukashenka still unexpectedly went to Moscow to participate in the Victory Day parade.

On the eve of Victory Day, May 5th, Lukashenka presented awards to state officials (mainly security officials), and a 100-year-old war veteran. Meanwhile, Putin held a meeting with the members of his Security Council, to discussed security for the Victory Day celebration on May 9^th.

Lukashenka and Putin were not invited to the coronation ceremony of the British monarch Charles III. The leaders of a number of other authoritarian states – Iran, Myanmar, Syria, Afghanistan and Venezuela – were also not invited. However, diplomatic representatives of North Korea and Nicaragua were invited.

Lukashenka has not yet reacted to the drone attack on the Kremlin, despite the Russian Foreign Ministry calling on the international community to condemn the event. The governments of Syria, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba have already acceded to this request. In contrast, as with the attack on the Russian plane at the airfield in Machulishchy, Minsk has paused to evaluate the situation. Kyiv denies responsibility for this event, and the sabotage on the railway in the Bryansk region damaging a Belarusian train.

However, the Belarusian State Border Committee has introduced temporary border control at crossing points from Russia, checking Russian citizens especially carefully. There is no official explanation for the strengthening of border passport control.

Despite all the previous events, self-proclaimed President of Belarus Aliaksandr Lukashenka still unexpectedly went to Moscow on May 8 to participate in the Victory Day Parade – alongside a number of other leaders from post-Soviet countries. They were all strongly invited to participate in the event by the Kremlin.