Questions Raised over Health of Belarusian President Lukashenko and Potential Political Moves

After 30 years in power, Alexander Lukashenko has been described as “the last dictator in Europe”. In recent weeks, however, much has been said about the health of the leader of Belarus.

He fell ill at the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow, and a few weeks later it was reported that after a personal meeting with Putin, he had been rushed to a hospital in Moscow.

Of course, there were immediately jokes and assumptions that Vladimir Putin had poisoned Aleksandr Lukashenko. But those doubts reached a new peak yesterday when Kyiv Post correspondent Jason Jay Smart reported that two FSB planes had taken off from Moscow and arrived in Minsk.

In addition, the son of the Belarusian president, Viktor Lukashenko, went to China.

This raises many questions. According to Smart, the last time one of these FSB planes flew to Belarus was on August 18 and 26, with director Nikolai Parushev on board.

What Lukashenko’s son is doing in China is the other question that immediately arises. According to Smart, he is either seeking financial help from Beijing or is there to arrange the succession to the presidency since his father has died.

It is still not clear what is “cooking” in Belarus. Many Twitter users and analysts have speculated that the Kremlin could take advantage of his failing health to install a new stooge in his post. Others go further – that Russia use a tactical nuclear weapon against Ukraine from the territory of Belarus, and then blame it on the absent Lukashenko.