Lukashenko threatens internet shutdown in case of protests during 2025 elections

Thirty-eight Russian combat drones enter Belarus on Nov. 24-25, marking the most significant overnight incursion so far and nearing the previous monthly record.

Alexander Lukashenko threatens to shut down the internet in Belarus should protests occur during the 2025 presidential election.

A Belarusian who fought on behalf of Ukraine as a volunteer against Russia faces over 20 years of prison time or potentially a death penalty under Lukashenko’s regime after being denied residence in the EU and extradited from Vietnam to Belarus.

Lukashenko “pardoned” 32 more political prisoners in the sixth round of releases. The total count so far: 178 people released, yet 223 newly recognized political prisoners were added, Viasna reported.

Seven hundred Belarusian activists, journalists, and Kastus Kalinouski Regiment volunteers were added to Russia’s wanted list.

Record 38 Russian combat drones cross into Belarus overnight, Belarusian Hajun reports
Thirty-eight Russian Shahed-type kamikaze drones flew into Belarus overnight on Nov. 24-25, marking an absolute record of daily incursions, the monitoring group Belarusian Hajun reported.

As Russia continues to intensify its drone attacks against Ukrainian cities, incursions of Russian drones into Belarus surged from infrequent, isolated instances in July to 27 stray drones spotted over Belarus in September. The daily incursions record runs up close to a monthly total of 49 incursions recorded in October.

Belarusian aviation scrambled to intercept the UAVs four times, shutting down at least one, Belarusian Hajun says. Dozens of drones crossed through the so-called “Belarusian corridor,” a narrow strip of Belarusian territory sandwiched between the Kyiv and Chernihiv oblasts of Ukraine.

In an attack on Nov. 24-25, Russia launched a total of 145 drones at Ukrainian targets overnight, with Ukrainian air defenses downing 71 of the attack drones, Ukraine’s Air Force said.

The official Minsk has never publicly raised objections to Moscow — its key ally — over the reported drone incidents. Belarusian authorities have confirmed downing a Russian drone over its territory for the first time on Sept. 5.


Belarusian authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko claimed on Oct. 4 that the Belarusian Air Force downs “a lot of drones,” both Russian and Ukrainian, and attributed the incursions to the work of radio-electronic warfare equipment and mistakes by drone operators. He did not provide evidence of Ukrainian drone incursions.

The Belarusian Hajun group dismissed the claims as false.


Russia adds 700 Belarusians to its wanted list
Over the past six months, 700 Belarusian activists, journalists, and volunteers fighting on Ukraine’s side were added to Russia’s wanted list, Mediazona Belarus reported on Nov. 26.

Belarus and Russia are part of the Interstate Wanted Persons Treaty of the Commonwealth of Independent States or CIS, the Russian-led political alliance of former post-Soviet countries. In February 2024, the Russian Interior Ministry wanted list was first found to include over 3,100 Belarusian citizens.

The new additions to the list include Pavel Shurmei and Dzianis Prokharau, current and former commanders of the Kastus Kalinouski Regiment fighting in Ukraine, as well as recently arrested in Vietnam Vasil Verameichyk, the regiment’s former member.

Investigative journalists of the Media Bureau project and Belarusian Investigative Center have been added to the database along with journalists from Polish-backed Belsat, sports media Tribuna, former head of the Belarusian service Radio Liberty, journalist Alexander Lukashuk.

In 2022 alone, Russia extradited 16 Belarusians accused of “extremism” — a charge widely used against political opponents of Lukashenko.

In February, then-Belarusian Ambassador to Russia Dzmitry Krutoy, who is currently heading Lukashenko’s administration, claimed that Minsk and Moscow were unifying the “lists of extremists and extremist resources."

The international police organization Interpol has stopped executing Belarusian politically motivated search warrants. However, Belarusians are subject to extradition in Russia and most CIS countries.