Tag Archives: Politics

‘Punish Him’: Labour Urged To Suspend Landlord MP Over Mould And Ant-Infested Flats

Posted on by
Reply

Labour has been urged to suspend an MP forced to apologise over mould and ant infestations in flats he rents out.

Jas Athwal said he was “profoundly sorry that tenants have been let down”.

The BBC first reported on the state of properties the Ilford South MP rents out.

One resident said: “The ants are everywhere. They are on my kid’s body and on their clothes.”

Athwal, who became a Labour MP at the last election and rents out 15 flats, was previously leader of Redbridge Borough Council, said he was “shocked” by the BBC’s findings.

In a statement, he said: “I know it’s my responsibility to have issues addressed as soon as they arise and have met the property management company to understand failures in communication.

“I’m profoundly sorry that tenants have been let down and will be reviewing the property management and how matters are escalated going forward.”

On LBC this morning, Commons leader Lucy Powell refused to be drawn on whether Athwal would lose the Labour whip over the controversy.

She also insisted Labour would bring forward legislation to improve protections for tenants.

Presenter Lewis Goodall said: ”[Athwal] was literally on the council and introduced a set of standards that all buy-to-let landlords in his council had to obey and he himself did not obey it.

“Now do you not think that is the height of hypocrisy? If this were the Conservative Party you would be slamming this guy, and yet here you are saying ‘it’s not a huge deal, he’s going to compensate them, we’re just going on as normal’.

“Don’t you think it would send a message to buy-to-let landlords who are ripping people off that you the Labour Party do not tolerate standards like this, not least from your own MPs?”

Powell: “I’m certainly not saying it’s OK and I’ve just made absolutely clear we don’t tolerate standards like this.”

The presenter then interrupted the minister to say: “Punish him then.”

But she replied: “Hold on a minute. That’s why we’re legislating with tough measures to tackle these issues, to give tenants those rights, so they don’t have to go to the BBC or anyone else, whether it’s a Labour MP or any other landlord.

“They will have real rights embedded in law … to back that law. It is not absolutely not OK. What I am saying is that this particular person in questions has taken quick action. He was furious about it. I will take him at his word for now, but he has to put that right.”

A Redbridge Council spokesperson said: “The selective landlord licensing schemes are in place across several wards. These schemes extend licensing to all privately rented properties occupied by a single household or two unrelated sharers, ensuring a fair and consistent process for all.

“We are aware of the situation with these properties. While we cannot comment on individual cases, it is important to stress that the council is committed to a fair and consistent process for every landlord applying to the selective licensing scheme.

“We notify all existing landlords that they may need to renew their licences and systematically work through those that need to be renewed. This approach applies to all borough landlords needing a licence, ensuring all parties are treated equally.

“In all cases, we expect properties that require a licence to apply for it. Where they do not have a licence, we will send notices and commence enforcement action.

“It is important that all landlords apply for their licences. This is about maintaining the standards of our selective licensing scheme and ensuring the safety and well-being of people in Redbridge.”

Share Button

Winter Fuel Payments For Pensioners Were Cut To Prevent Economy Crashing, Minister Says

Posted on by
Reply

Winter fuel payments were ended for millions of pensioners to prevent the economy from crashing, a minister has claimed.

Commons leader Lucy Powell suggested there could even have been a run on the pound unless Labour had cut day-to-day government spending.

Her comments come amid a growing backlash to chancellor Rachel Reeves’ decision to end winter fuel payments for all but the very poorest pensioners.

An estimated 10 million old people will lose out on payments of up to £300 a year as a result of the controversial decision.

On Sky News this morning, presenter Trevor Phillips asked Powell: “When the prime minister said this week ‘those with the broadest shoulders should bear the heaviest burden’, was he talking about the 10 million pensioners who will lose [winter fuel payments]?”

Powell told him: “Well this is an example of one of the very difficult decisions that we’ve had to make that we didn’t want to make, that we weren’t wanting to do when we got elected.”

After Phillips told her “you didn’t have to make it”, the minister replied: “It is really important for people to understand the context.

“What we found was that spending was much higher in the current year that we are in than anybody had thought.

“There was a black hole of £22 billion that was made up of things like nearly £7 billion of underfunding of the asylum system, that the previous government knew was there and they put their head in the sand and didn’t take the difficult decisions they needed to take because they knew they were going to lose the election.

“That’s why we’ve had to take some of these really difficult decisions around means testing the winter payments so that the poorest pensioners continue to receive it, but some of the wealthiest pensioners won’t.”

But Phillips replied: “You are now the government, you made a choice, and the first choice you’ve made was to withdraw the allowance from pensioners, in the same way that you’ve chosen to hand out pay increases way above inflation while you’ve been telling others with three children that you’ll have to wait until you’ve found the money to lift the benefit cap. These are your choices.”

Powell replied: “Finding in-year savings in the current year is very difficult indeed.

“If we didn’t, we would have seen the markets losing confidence, potentially a run on the pound, the economy crashing and the people who pay the heaviest price for that when the economy crashes is the poorest in society, and people like pensioners.”

Shadow Treasury chief secretary Laura Trott said: “This simply shows how desperate the new Labour government is to run from responsibility for the tax rises they always planned but hid from the public during the election.

“After handing billions in inflation-busting pay rises to their union paymasters, no-one believes Labour’s chicken little strategy.

“They should stop trying to deceive the public with ridiculous fantasies and instead have the courage to let parliament debate cuts to winter fuel payments for the sake of those pensioners who will lose out thanks to the decisions of this government.”

Both the Tories and Lib Dems are planning to force a Commons vote on the removal of winter fuel payments to all but those who claim pensioner credit.

Some Labour MPs are threatening to rebel by voting with the opposition in protest at the chancellor’s decision.

The government is launching a campaign urging those who do not claim the £3,900 benefit but are entitled to it to do so.

The average pension credit is £75 a week, but it is estimated that 880,000 who qualify for it do not claim it.

Share Button

Tories Turn Their Fire On Kemi Badenoch As Race To Be Party Leader Heats Up

Posted on by
Reply

The small rump of 121 Tory MPs who survived the party’s general election drubbing will return to Westminster on Monday with one item on their agenda – choosing the man or woman to take the fight to Keir Starmer for the next five years.

They will hardly have time to draw breath before the first ballot of the contest takes place 48 hours later, when one of the six candidates will be unceremoniously dumped by their colleagues.

Kemi Badenoch, Robert Jenrick, Mel Stride, Priti Patel, James Cleverly and Tom Tugendhat await their verdict, which will be delivered by Bob Blackman, chair of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, in committee room 14.

Stride, a close ally of outgoing leader Rishi Sunak and the man who was rarely off our TV screens during the general election campaign, is seen as the most likely to fall at the first hurdle.

But many Tory MPs have told HuffPost UK that the outcome of Wednesday’s ballot is too close to call, and that Stride could well survive at the expense of a more fancied rival.

One former cabinet minister said: “I wouldn’t bet on Mel going in the first round. He’s got a hardcore of support in the parliamentary party and 15 or 20 MPs might be enough to get him through the first round.”

A veteran MP added: “I think Rob and Kemi will come first and second, but any one of the other four could go on Wednesday. It will be very close and a few votes here and there could swing it.”

Although Badenoch remains the bookies’ favourite to emerge victorious in the end, many MPs have been surprised by her relative anonymity over the summer.

While her five rivals have been criss-crossing the country meeting party members and doing media interviews, the shadow communities secretary has made a virtue of taking two weeks off to recharge her batteries.

“Articles portraying politicians negatively for having a family life have done much to toxify the environment for MPs – we can do better than this,” Badenoch said earlier this month as she defended her decision to go on holiday with her family while parliament is in recess.

In a quote almost designed to annoy her rivals, a Badenoch ally told Guido Fawkes: “The general election campaign was long and hard and painful. I seriously doubt any Tory members, candidates or MPs will seriously begrudge the next leader of the Conservative Party having some time away with her family.”

But one currently undecided Tory MP told HuffPost UK: “I think Kemi has under-performed so far. It’s been a very casual campaign. I think the story after Wednesday will be that she has performed below expectations.”

A shadow cabinet member said: “A few colleagues have expressed surprise at Kemi’s decision to go on holiday. We’re all knackered after the election, but if you want to be turning round the fortunes of the party you have to show that hunger.

“Some people are wondering whether she lacks the necessary drive. There have been questions about her work ethic in the past.

“The initial view was that Kemi would come racing out the blocks with big name endorsements to build up a lot of momentum, and there’s a lot of surprise that that hasn’t happened.”

But a Badenoch aide hit back: “The MPs complaining to you are backing other candidates and trying to make this a thing, but it isn’t.

“Most MPs understand the value of taking a break after the election, and clearly the members care more about getting the best candidate rather than the one who did the most media in August. In the only truly independent poll by YouGov Kemi was the outright leader by a distance.”

“I think Rob and Kemi will come first and second, but any one of the other four could go on Wednesday.”

In that poll of Tory members, carried out a week ago, Badenoch had the backing of 24%, with Tugendhat second on 16%, Cleverly on 14%, Jenrick on 12%, Patel on 11% and Stride on just 2%.

Nevertheless, Jenrick – viewed as Badenoch’s main rival in the battle to be the standard bearer for the Tory right – has won plaudits among MPs for his campaign so far.

“I think Rob has got off to the best start, but it’s a long race,” said one backbencher.

“He’s definitely run the most professional, switched-on campaign, there’s no doubt about that.

“I would say at this moment, he is the frontrunner of six. But of course, that doesn’t mean he would be the frontrunner if he makes it to the final two.”

Kemi Badenoch is the bookies' favourite to be next Tory leader.
Kemi Badenoch is the bookies’ favourite to be next Tory leader.

via Associated Press

The five who survive the first ballot on Wednesday will be reduced to four in another ballot of Tory MPs the week after.

They will then take part in a leadership beauty contest at the party’s annual conference in Birmingham at the end of September, after which MPs will whittle them down to the final two, with Tory members then having the final say on who should be the party’s new leader.

He or she will be announced on November 2, after which they will take on the Herculean task of trying to take the Conservatives back to power in 2029.

Whoever is chosen to succeed Rishi Sunak will be tasked with turning the Conservatives into a united, competent opposition who can convincingly present themselves to voters as a coherent, alternative government in five years’ time.

The evidence of the last few years, in which the warring party has burned through four leaders and suffered its worst ever election defeat, suggest the chances of success are remote.

But one Badenoch backer told HuffPost UK: “I actually think the leadership contest so far has been quite a civil affair, which suggests that the party is ready to finally come together whoever wins. But time will tell.”

Share Button

Jess Phillips Says She Was Given Quicker NHS Treatment Because She Backed Gaza Ceasefire

Posted on by
Reply

A government minister has claimed she got faster NHS treatment because she backed a ceasefire in Gaza.

According to the Daily Mail, Jess Phillips said she had gone to A&E at a hospital in her home city of Birmingham after suffering breathing difficulties.

Speaking at an ‘An Evening With Jess Phillips’ event at the Kiln Theatre in London, the Home Office minister said she had faced a lengthy wait due to overcrowding.

“I have genuinely seen better facilities, health facilities, in war zones, in developing countries around the world,” the MP told the audience.

She eventually made it to the front of the queue, but said that was “undoubtedly” thanks to her outspoken stance on the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Phillips was one of eight Labour MPs who left the party’s frontbench last year after voting for a ceasefire.

The Birmingham Yardley MP said: “I got through because of who I am. Also the doctore who saw me was Palestinian, as it turns out. Almost all the doctors in Birmingham seemed to be.”

She added: “He was sort of like, ‘I like you. You voted for a ceasefire’. [Because of that] I got through quicker.”

HuffPost UK has contacted Phillips for a comment.

Earlier this month, the MP admitted she had made a “mistake” over a post she put on X during the recent riots.

Responding to footage showing a Sky News reporter being confronted by masked men in Birmingham, Phillips said it was caused by “misinformation” being spread in the area.

“These people came to this location because it has been spread that racists were coming to attack them,” she posted.

Following criticism of her remarks, Phillips said: “I think I almost certainly could have phrased it better.

“Anybody, regardless of who they are, whichever flag they wish to wave, anyone being a thug on our streets should not be tolerated.

“Of course I would choose my words more carefully. I’m more than happy to say that when I make a mistake, absolutely.”

Share Button

The Tories Oppose Labour’s Plan To Extend The Smoking Ban – But Last Year They Wanted To Make It Completely Illegal

Posted on by
Reply

The Tories have criticised Labour’s plan to ban smoking outside pubs just months after saying they wanted to make it completely illegal.

The former prime minister’s decision to call an early election meant he ran out of time to turn the policy into law.

Labour have said they will introduce the legislation themselves, and today it emerged that they want to go further by banning smoking in pub gardens, outdoor restaurants and outside sports stadiums and hospitals.

The Conservatives posted on X that was “more evidence that Labour hates freedom”.

“This isn’t about people’s health. It’s about control,” they added.

But embarrassingly for the Tories, a community note was added to the post pointing out the party’s previous support for an outright smoking ban.

Other users of the social media platform were also quick to highlight the Conservatives’ apparent hypocrisy.

Share Button

Keir Starmer Has Removed An ‘Unsettling’ Portrait Of Margaret Thatcher From No.10

Posted on by
Reply

Keir Starmer has removed an “unsettling” portrait of Margaret Thatcher from Downing Street.

The painting of the former Tory PM was commissioned by Gordon Brown when she visited No.10 in 2007.

It had been hanging in her former study, which is now known as the Thatcher Room.

But author and journalist Tom Baldwin, who is Starmer’s biographer, has revealed that the PM has decided to take it down.

Speaking at the Aye Write book festival in Glasgow, Baldwin said the pair had recently gone to the study to “have a quiet talk”.

Baldwin said: “We sat there, and I go, ‘It’s a bit unsettling with her staring down at you like that, isn’t it’?”

When Starmer agreed, Baldwin asked if he would “get rid of it”.

He said Starmer nodded, adding: “And he has.”

Downing Street sources confirmed to HuffPost UK that the portrait has now been removed.

The move has been criticised by Russell Findlay, who is the bookies’ favourite to be the next leader of the Scottish Tories.

He said: “Gordon Brown commissioned this portrait after calling the first female Prime Minister ‘a conviction politician who saw the need for change’.

“I agree with Gordon Brown’s reasonable position to treat his political opponents with decency and respect.

“Keir Starmer seems to have a much more petty approach.”

Share Button

Putin’s Top Ally Lukashenko Seems To Hint There’s A 1% Chance He Could Turn Against Russia

Posted on by
Reply

The president of Belarus and loyal ally to Vladimir Putin claimed this week he could not accept 99% of the proposals for him to turn against Russia.

Alexander Lukashenko alleged that “some from the outside” are encouraging him to turn against Moscow and start backing Ukraine.

In an address on Tuesday – shared on both the official Belarus government website and Russian state news agency TASS – he said: “Some from the outside are giving us advice, throwing in ideas and urging us to back down here and give something up there.

“The idea is that we should forget about Russia and turn away from Russia.

″‘Go fight against Russia together with Ukraine,’ they say, ‘and we will deploy NATO forces close to [the Russian city of] Smolensk.’

“This is how far it gets. I’m receiving proposals from all sides, and 99% of them we cannot accept,” he said – suggesting he could be persuaded to accept that narrow 1% of the proposals being pitched to him.

At the meeting of Belarus’s teachers’ Council, he suggested he wanted Belarusians to understand the situation they are in.

He then said: “Do your thing and I will do mine together with my colleagues in the government and other senior officials.”

<div class="js-react-hydrator" data-component-name="Twitter" data-component-id="6541" data-component-props="{"itemType":"rich","index":11,"contentIndexByType":1,"contentListType":"embed","code":"

Lukashenko complained that the West is trying to persuade him to fight with NATO against Russia.

He also added that he receives \"proposals from all sides that I, 99%, cannot accept.\"
Did he mean Russia and NATO by \"all sides\"? pic.twitter.com/DVa7NZ1nql

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 27, 2024

","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Anton Gerashchenko","author_url":"https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en","cache_age":86400,"description":"Lukashenko complained that the West is trying to persuade him to fight with NATO against Russia.He also added that he receives \"proposals from all sides that I, 99%, cannot accept.\" Did he mean Russia and NATO by \"all sides\"? pic.twitter.com/DVa7NZ1nql— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 27, 2024\n\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Anton Gerashchenko on Twitter / X","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1828424875016425522","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"desktop","editionInfo":{"id":"uk","name":"U.K.","link":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk","locale":"en_GB"},"originalEdition":"uk","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"66cf1fd4e4b02e9516052d6e","entryPermalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/lukashenko-dismisses-99-of-plans-for-belarus-to-turn-against-russia_uk_66cf1fd4e4b02e9516052d6e","entryTagsList":"russia,ukraine,belarus,alexander-lukashenko","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":null,"sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"uk.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc140cf94592c45d7390c","disabledWithMapiEntries":false,"overrides":{"all":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4"},"whitelisted":["56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439","56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529","570278d2e4b070ff77b98217","57027b4be4b070ff77b98d5c","56fe95c4e4b0041c4242016b","570279cfe4b06d08e3629954","5ba9e8821c2e65639162ccf1","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e","5b35266b158f855373e28256","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2","60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","60d0de02b627221e9d819408"],"playlists":{"default":"57bc306888d2ff1a7f6b5579","news":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","politics":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","entertainment":"56c6e7f2e4b0983aa64c60fc","tech":"56c6f70ae4b043c5bdcaebf9","parents":"56cc65c2e4b0239099455b42","lifestyle":"56cc66a9e4b01f81ef94e98c"},"playerUpdates":{"56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439":"60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b":"60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529":"60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced":"60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e":"60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2":"60d0de02b627221e9d819408"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"8b034f64-513c-4987-b16f-42d6008f7feb","clickToPlayPlayer":"5a777b9b-81fe-41a6-8302-59e9953ee8a2","videoPagePlayer":"19654b65-409c-4b38-90db-80cbdea02cf4"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":11},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":0},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"66cf1fd4e4b02e9516052d6e","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"desktop","page_edition":"en-uk"},"tags":[{"name":"Russia","slug":"russia","links":{"relativeLink":"news/russia","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/russia","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/russia"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Ukraine","slug":"ukraine","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/ukraine/"},{"name":"Ukraine","slug":"ukraine","links":{"relativeLink":"news/ukraine","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/ukraine","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/ukraine"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Ukraine","slug":"ukraine","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/ukraine/"},{"name":"Belarus","slug":"belarus","links":{"relativeLink":"news/belarus","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/belarus","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/belarus"},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/belarus/"},{"name":"Alexander Lukashenko","slug":"alexander-lukashenko","links":{"relativeLink":"news/alexander-lukashenko","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/alexander-lukashenko","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/alexander-lukashenko"},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/alexander-lukashenko/"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-1\", \"entry_paragraph_1\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline\", \"entry_paragraph_2\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-2\", \"entry_paragraph_3\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-infinite\", \"repeating_dynamic_display\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}”>

Lukashenko complained that the West is trying to persuade him to fight with NATO against Russia.

He also added that he receives “proposals from all sides that I, 99%, cannot accept.”
Did he mean Russia and NATO by “all sides”? pic.twitter.com/DVa7NZ1nql

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 27, 2024

The suggestion Lukashenko could be wavering, even just in that 1%, over his loyalty to Putin is eye-catching, especially as Belarus agreed to host nuclear weaponry on Moscow’s behalf.

Russia has been pretty isolated on the world stage since invading Ukraine in 2022, with many nations in the West condemning the war as a land grab.

Lukashenko, though, has publicly advocated for Putin, claiming only in January that Russia “bears the greatest burden in the world” and suffers “more than anyone else”.

Like Putin, he is known for his authoritarian rule and eliminating the political opposition – making the two leaders natural allies.

However, when mercenaries from the now-dissolved Wagner group attempted to stage a coup last year, it was Lukashenko who managed to stop it in its tracks.

According to specialists from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) at the time, this pulled Putin and Lukashenko into a bit of a “power play”.

A year later it seems as though the Russian president is still on top – but, crucially, Belarus is still not actually at war with Ukraine.

Troops are building up the border between the two countries, but, as the ISW claimed on August 26, Lukashenko is still not going to risk combat with Ukraine which “could weaken his regime or drastically increase Belarusian discontent.”

Share Button