Vitaly Portnikov: The Book "Belarus By Natallia Radzina" Is A Lesson For Ukrainians
- 30.10.2025, 18:13
The war could have been prevented.
Famous Ukrainian journalist Vitaliy Portnikov in Facebook commented on the release of a new book by American writer Yuri Felshtinsky "Natallia Radzina's Belarus. Journalist against dictatorship." Vitaly Portnikov believes that this book is a lesson of the day for Ukrainians:
- The publishing house "Drukarskii zbir Oleg Fedorov" has released in Kiev the book by Yuri Felshtinsky, the heroine of which is my colleague and friend, Belarusian journalist Natallia Radzina - "Natallia Radzina's Belarus. Journalist against the dictator."
For the Belarusian reader, this book is a reminder that people who save and preserve the honor of the Belarusian people, and with it the prospect of true statehood, continue to fight even in exile. For the international reader, it is a testament to what Belarus could have been if the dictatorship of the Lubyanka agent had not prevailed.
And for us, Ukrainians, it is a painful lesson in shortsightedness.
Natalya has for decades, during her visits to Kiev, in conversations with politicians and journalists, persistently explained that Lukashenko cannot be trusted. She warned: he is not and has never been a guarantor of Ukrainian security. And as long as he remains in Minsk, the territory of Belarus can at any moment become a springboard for aggression against Ukraine.
But most of her interlocutors in Kiev took these warnings with a condescending smile - what else can an emigrant forced to flee from a dictator say? Ukrainian politicians thought that they should "mind their own business" and "develop relations with Lukashenko".
We know how it ended. These "relations" turned out to be an invasion of Russian troops from the Belarusian territory. Columns of equipment moved to Kiev and Chernigov from the very border, the danger of which Radzina had been talking about for years.
And if the Ukrainian elite had listened to Natalia in the peaceful years, perhaps there would not have been this attack. Perhaps there would not have been a war.
Buy the book "Natallia Radzina's Belarus: journalist against the dictator" can be purchased on the following sites:
Through the website of the publishing house "ISIA Media".
In Ukrainian language you can through the site of the publishing house "Drukarskiy Dvir Oleg Fedorov".
In the near future the book will be released in Belarusian and English languages.