Belarusians

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko (pictured) said that Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu is «sometimes» unfairly criticized (VIDEO). According to him, the Russian minister has «done a lot» and «occupied his niche».

Dmitry Semchenko, the former head of the presidential media pool in Belarus, was sentenced to three years in prison for posts on social networks criticizing the harsh actions of the security forces to disperse the protesters.

On March 21, the draw for the European Gymnastics Championship, which will be held in Turkey, took place. Gymnasts from Russia and Belarus were not allowed to join it, which excludes their further participation in the competition. This was announced by the senior coach of the Russian national team Valentina Rodionenko.

A court in Belarus sentenced in absentia ex-presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya (pictured) to 15 years in prison, and her colleague on the Coordinating Council of the opposition, ex-Minister of Culture Pavel Latushko — to 18 years in prison.

The press service of the Ministry of Defense of Belarus announced the holding of exercises of the defense authorities in all regions of the republic. The maneuvers will be held from February 28 to March 3. It is noted that the exercises are planned and are an annual event.

The state prosecution requested the Minsk City Court to impose a punishment in absentia for the Belarusian oppositionists Svetlana Takhanovskaya and Pavel Latushko who left in the form of 19 years in a penal colony. This was reported by the state agency BELTA.

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has publicly stated for the second time that there is allegedly not a single political prisoner in the republic.

Rosselkhoznadzor specialists have identified a batch of frozen salmon fish of unknown origin, which they tried to import into Russia across the border with Belarus under the guise of products from the Faroe Islands. Yulia Melano, adviser to the head of the department, told reporters about this.

The press service of the Ministry of Defense of Belarus reported on the conduct of tactical exercises of tank platoons with live firing at the Gozhsky training ground.

Russia and Belarus were not included in the list of European broadcasters of the Olympic Games in the period from 2026 to 2032. This was reported by representatives of the IOC - the International Olympic Committee.

The Tennis Federation of Australia (Tennis Australia) has again stated the immutability of its position regarding the refusal to suspend Russian and Belarusian athletes from the games of the Australian Open.