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Zelensky's coup claim and Lukashenko's border speech
Summary
A look back at two regional political developments reported on 26 November 2021 and covered in the days that followed.
What did Kyiv and Minsk say as tensions mounted in late November 2021? On 27 November 2021, reports were circulating of two statements made the previous day, both of which fed regional unease.
On 26 November 2021, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of plotting a coup against him. He said the Ukrainian tycoon Rinat Akhmetov was being enlisted to help plan it. Zelensky added that Ukraine was prepared for any scenario as tensions rose.
On the same day, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko made his first public appearance at the Belarus–Poland border since the migrant crisis began. He addressed migrants and told them they were free to return home or head west. In the words reported at the time, he said Belarusian forces would not detain, choke or beat those who wanted to go westwards, and urged them to go through.
The border crisis in context
The migrant build-up on the border had begun in August 2021, when the Belarusian government started sponsoring an influx of migrants, mostly from the Middle East and North Africa, to the borders of Lithuania, Poland and Latvia. Belarus denied involvement. The European Union and independent observers viewed the movement as hybrid warfare, undertaken in response to the deterioration in Belarus–European Union relations after the 2020 presidential election and the 2020–2021 protests.
Tens of thousands of unauthorised crossing attempts were recorded between August and December 2021, peaking in October. Later, at least 20 migrants died during the winter because of harsh weather and abuse from border authorities. Crossing attempts fell sharply the following year but never returned to their pre-crisis levels. They began rising again in spring 2024, though they stayed well below the 2021 peak.
