Tikhanovskaya warns Belarus could become launchpad for Russian provocations against NATO

Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya told Lithuanian broadcaster LRT that aggressor state Russia could use its neighbor's territory to escalate tensions and carry out provocations against NATO member states.

According to her, self-proclaimed Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko remains willing to hand over territory and infrastructure that could be used by Russia for potential attack or intimidation operations against the alliance.

Tikhanovskaya said she has received information about the construction of new military infrastructure in Belarus, both near the border with Ukraine and along the borders with European Union member states.

Warning over 'Oreshnik' and nuclear blackmail

The opposition leader stressed that particular caution is needed, since Belarus already hosts infrastructure for the 'Oreshnik' missile system, which Russia uses for threats and nuclear blackmail. She also noted that Belarus's railway network could be used to move Russian troops and weapons.

Expert: high risk of provocations

Oleg Zhdanov, a reserve colonel of Ukraine's Armed Forces and military expert, said the probability of special military provocations by the aggressor state against NATO is fairly high. In his view, terrorist acts and provocations across Europe follow a single Kremlin plan aimed at destabilizing the situation, creating chaos within EU territory, and driving a wedge between the EU and NATO. Zhdanov added that Europeans often fail to grasp this connection, treating incidents as isolated sabotage or intelligence operations by Russian special services, even though investigations usually reveal Kremlin involvement.