Hmmm: Belarus strongman suddenly MIA

The BelTA state news agency reported that Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko read a message from Lukashenko during an annual ceremony at which young people swear allegiance to the ex-Soviet state’s flag.

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The agency gave no reason for Lukashenko’s absence five days after he appeared unwell and skipped parts of commemorations in Moscow marking the Soviet Union’s World War Two victory over Germany.

Lukashenko also did not speak at an event in Minsk marking the anniversary for the first time in his long presidency. That event was the last time he was seen in public.

[Lukashenko is hardly popular in Belarus, perhaps even less so after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine came in part through their territory. If he gets seriously ill or dies, expect a real power struggle — and with Vladimir Putin buried in his Ukrainian quagmire, Russia may not be able to shape the outcome or prevent a popular uprising from seizing the government. — Ed]

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