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Belarus's foreign minister Vladimir Makei was poisoned in a Kremlin sting operation, extraordinary new reports have claimed. The veteran diplomat and former spy died suddenly yesterday amid claims he was in secret contact with the West concerning the war in Ukraine and preventing Belarus from being incorporated into Russia by Vladimir Putin. A video shows Makei, 64, looking healthy on a Belarus military cargo plane last week shortly before he died. He wasn't known to suffer from any chronic illness. -snip- Makei was this week due to attend an Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) meeting in Poland...

Black Friday early deals Lukashenko sparks health scare as Putin ally struggles to disembark private jumbo jet Belarusian dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko struggled down aircraft stairs on landing in Armenia for a summit with Vladimir Putin. By TIM MCNULTY 10:12, Thu, Nov 24, 2022 | UPDATED: 10:12, Thu, Nov 24, 2022 5 Alexander Lukashenko struggles to disembark private jet Enter your email address here SUBSCRIBE We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at...

...eight months after Russia invaded Ukraine, Lukashenko’s Russian-enabled grip on power risks slipping as Moscow pressures him to get more involved in the faltering military campaign next door in Ukraine. Artyom Shraibman, a Belarusian political analyst who fled to Poland after a brutal crackdown on postelection protests in 2020, cautioned that it was unclear exactly what Putin had asked of the Belarusian leader in St. Petersburg but, he added: “it is very clear that Lukashenko is not yet willing to join the war” because of the immense political risks that would bring. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a Belarusian opposition leader and a...

The defence minister of Ukraine Oleksii Reznikov believes that Belarusian soldiers have no motivation to enter the war with Ukraine, and if ordered by their authorities to fight, they would lay down their weapons. "I don't understand what would motivate Belarusians to consciously go to war with Ukraine, kill and die for no one knows what, even if they are officers who are under oath obliged to follow orders. If they go on the attack with their units, they could cross the Belarusian border, raise their hands, lay down their weapons and say, ‘Ukrainians, we are your syabry. [Belarusians] are...

The Belarusian army is combat-ready and will be able to inflict unacceptable damage on the enemy in case of external aggression, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at the meeting to discuss Belarus' defense needs on 10 May, BelTA has learned. The head of state underlined that the armament, which the Belarusian army possesses today, lets the country maintain its defensive capacity. “I think it is good armament for the army. It shows that our army will be able to fight and inflict unacceptable damage on the enemy. We are realists, we understand that we will not be able to defeat...