Belarus's exiled opposition leader — in her first official visit to Ottawa — got what she asked for even before walking through the door on Tuesday. Canada increased sanctions against the regime of President Alexander Lukashenko, targeting the military and security services that have aided Russia in its war with Ukraine.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's visit, however, has shed light on how closely her opposition movement has been co-operating with Ukraine and how a victory by Kyiv could be the inspiration for change in Belarus.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said, in a statement that the Belarusian regime is supporting human-rights violations by allowing the country to serve as a launching pad for Russia's attacks on Ukraine. Another 22 officials in Belarus are being added to the sanctions list, including people who are involved in the stationing and transport of Russian military personnel and equipment.
An additional 16 Belarusian companies — across the military, manufacturing, tech, engineering, banking and rail sectors — were also hit with penalties.
CBC News has reached out to Joly's office, but has not received a response.
Met with defence minister last weekend
Tsikhanouskaya — who was widely considered to have won the 2020 presidential election in Belarus — said Monday those sanctions were among a number of items she planned to ask for in meetings over the next two days with Joly and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
She said she's also seeking non-lethal military aid for up to 500 Belarusians who are fighting as volunteers for Ukraine.
Tsikhanouskaya has met already with Defence Minister Anita Anand. The two had a discussion during the Halifax International Security Forum last weekend.
"We don't want the world to overlook the participation of Lukashenko in this war," Tsikhanouskaya told CBC News, referring to Lukashenko.
Lukashenko managed to retain power after the disputed election, even though the international community believes there was widespread voter fraud. Mass demonstrations in Belarus against Lukashenko retaining power were put down violently by the security services.
Lukashenko has been a stalwart ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the former Soviet republic depends heavily on Moscow both politically and economically.
"I will ask Canada to consider imposing individual sanctions against state propagandistic military officials, employees of KGB secret services and pro-regime businesses," Tsikhanouskaya said.
"I can't understand why many of these people who fuel repressions and Putin's war machine ... are still able to travel in Europe."
Strong military ties between Russia, Belarus
There are many arrangements between Russia and Belarus governing military co-operation, according to defence experts. They include Russia's use of the country as a springboard for the invasion of northern Ukraine, its use of a Belarusian radar facility and an air base, and a joint regional air defence system established in 2009.
Published reports earlier this month showed new satellite imagery that suggested thousands of Russian troops may have returned to Belarus. That has raised questions about the prospect of another thrust into Ukraine from the north — or an attempt by Moscow and Minsk to distract Kyiv.
In October, Lukashenko ordered his own troops to deploy with Russian forces near Ukraine, claiming there was a clear threat to Belarus from Kyiv and its backers in the West.
Tsikhanouskaya said it's likely a distraction.
"If such an [invasion] order is made, we call on Belaruians to disobey, to refuse to fulfil the orders," she said. "We also called on Belarusians, call on your sons to join the anti-war movement."
Russia's war on Ukraine is deeply unpopular among Belarusians, she said. A poll conducted by the Belarusian opposition, using donated Canadian government support, shows that 86 per cent of people in the country do not support the war.
Brian Whitmore, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center, agreed that Putin's invasion is unpopular in Belarus and has galvanized the public.
"It has also sparked resistance among Belarusians, including sabotage of rail lines to prevent Russian troops from getting to the front and a hacking campaign by a group calling itself the Cyber Partisans," Whitmore wrote in a recent opinion article in Foreign Policy Magazine.
Belarusian volunteers also have joined a Ukraine paramilitary group called the Kastus Kalinouski Battalion, named for the leader of a 19th-century Belarusian uprising against the Russian Empire.
"We are looking for assistance to our military volunteers who are fighting shoulder to shoulder with Ukrainians. Winter is coming and people need warm clothes ... non-lethal equipment, medical aid. And it would be nice to send such humanitarian aid to [a] Belarusian battalion in Ukraine," said Tsikhanouskaya.
