25 representatives of the so-called Luhansk and Donetsk republic will take part in the ‘Victory Roads – To Berlin’ race which is held by the Russian motor club Night Wolves.
The separatists are set to travel a long way the entire route (Russia-Belarus-Poland-Slovakia-Czechia-Germany) under the flags of the DPR-LPR and show up at the Soviet War Memorial Treptow in Berlin. It is Leonid Pasechnik, Head of the ‘Luhansk republic’, who handed over a flag to the bikers.
The motor race is dedicated to the 74th anniversary of the victory over Nazis. The notorious club repeatedly made attempts to cross the Belarus-EU border in Brest, but were stopped by the Polish authorities. According to them, the participants threatened the security of the European Union. The U.S. and Canada imposed sanctions on several representatives of the organisation. The Wolves are vocal supporters of the intervention in Ukraine and co-organisers of Antimaidan in Russia.
When denied entry to Poland in 2016, they returned to Belarus and shared their impressions with journalists. When Belsat TV contributor Ales Lyauchuk said the USSR was Hitler’s ally at the beginning of the Second World War and referred to the Nazi-Soviet Pact signed in August 1939, Alexander Zaldostanov, Putin’s close friend and the club’s leader, could not come up with any sensible answer and pushed Mr Lyauchuk away saying ‘Bugger off!’.
In 2015, it was Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s eldest son Viktar and top Belarusian officials who welcomed them. Last year, however, the Belarusian side seemed to dissociate from the Wolves: local officials failed to accompany them in Stalin Line, Pinsk or Brest. The Belarusian authorities might well start to realise that such guests do pose a threat.
