Alexander Lukashenko is a Belarusian politician who has served as the first president of Belarus since the establishment of the office on 20 July 1994.
Since October 2020, the EU has progressively imposed restrictive measures against Belarus. The measures were adopted in response to the fraudulent nature of the August 2020 presidential elections in Belarus, and the intimidation and violent repression of peaceful protesters, opposition members and journalists. The EU does not recognise results of the Belarus elections, condemning them as neither free, nor fair.
For months, Lukashenko has been accused of using illegal migrants as a tool to punish the European Union for imposing sanctions on his regime.
In July, Belarus loosened its restrictions on visas and increased flights on its state-run airline from the Middle East, allowing thousands of would-be migrants to arrive from Iraq, Syria and other countries. Belarusian security forces then funnelled the migrants to the borders with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia – all members of the European Union – and even gave them wire cutters to breach the fences.
An estimated 4,000 migrants are camped at the Polish border where the migrants are camped in a freezing forest, and perhaps 10,000 to 20,000 overall in Belarus. At least 11 have died in the cold.