'Belarusian lawmakers have approved several amendments to legislation that severely restricts civil rights and the free flow of information...' This is a brutal regime that tortures protesters simply for demonstrating against a clearly rigged election. 1/6 https://www.rferl.org/a/belarus-lawmakers-approve-amendments-that-severely-restrict-civil-rights-media/31195872.html

While Russia moves military assets to Ukraine's border, the US, EU, Five Eyes, and any other allies willing to sanction these criminal leaders in Belarus should think about doing so immediately. Russia is a regional power & won't be able to block these sanctions. 2/6

That said, sanctions may not be that effective here. If Russia wanted to support Lukashenka, he could circumvent them with direct trade between Belarus and Russia. They border each other and Putin and others under US sanctions are looking for alternatives to circumvent them. 3/6

We must support @Tsihanouskaya, the democratically elected leader of Belarus, with everything we can. If Russia wants to move military assets to the Ukrainian border, we can plan that game too. The US military in Poland should move military assets closer to Belarus. 4/6

NATO forces are in Baltic countries bordering Belarus. Germany is leading the battalion in Lithuania. The NATO presence is Latvia includes Canadian troops as the core of that group. All NATO assets in Latvia & Lithuania should be moved closer to Belarus to send a message. 5/6

If NATO's Baltic forces move closer to Belarus & US forces move closer to the Poland-Belarus border, it will send a clear message to Putin. Hands off Ukraine. You try to move on Kyiv, we will take Minsk. Putin responds to force and fears NATO more than anything on Earth. 6/6