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Vladimir Putin meets Alexander Lukashenko in September Vladimir Putin's close ally Alexander Lukashenko has made a huge intervention after warning Russia and Ukraine are locked in a "serious stalemate" as he called for sit-down peace talks and an end to the brutal war. -snip- He said in a question-and-answer video posted on the website of the Belarusian state news agency BelTA: "There are enough problems on both sides and in general, the situation is now seriously stalemate - no one can do anything and substantively strengthen or advance their position. "They’re there head-to-head, to the death, entrenched. People are dying....

Russia and Ukraine are locked in a stalemate on the frontlines of their war and the two sides need to sit down and negotiate an end to the conflict, Alexander Lukashenko, the authoritarian leader of Belarus and an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said over the weekend. "There are enough problems on both sides and in general the situation is now seriously stalemate: no one can do anything and substantively strengthen or advance their position," Lukashenko said. "They're there head-to-head, to the death, entrenched. People are dying." -snip- "We need to sit down at the negotiating table and come...

Belarus expects to receive $640 million from Russia in 2024 to compensate for losses sustained by its oil refineries, Russian state news agency RIA reported on Monday, citing the Belarusian Finance Ministry. Belarus used to import discounted oil from Moscow for years and resold some of it, as well as oil products refined from the Russian crude, on to Europe. Russia stopped the practice in 2019 amid changes to its tax policy, resulting in costs of $330 million to Belarus that year, according to Minsk's estimates. The row between the two states even led to major Russian oil companies suspending...

President Vladimir Putin has ordered Wagner fighters to sign an oath of allegiance to the Russian state after a deadly plane crash believed to have killed Yevgeny Prigozhin, the volatile chief of the mercenary group. Putin signed the decree bringing in the change with immediate effect on Friday after the Kremlin said that Western suggestions that Prigozhin had been killed on its orders were an "absolute lie".

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has threatened to deploy nuclear weapons on NATO nations if he is faced with aggression, amid heightened tension on the country's border with Poland. Warning the West in an interview with state-run BelTA, the Belarusian leader said he would deploy nuclear weapons 'immediately once aggression is launched against us'. 'If aggression against our country is launched from the side of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, we will immediately respond with everything we have,' he said.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has reportedly kicked the Wagner PMC out of Belarus, after refusing to finance the Russian mercenaries. (snip) But reports have now emerged suggesting Lukashenko has refused to finance their stay in the country and the mercenaries are being 'bussed' back to Russia for a “vacation.” According to the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel, operations to remove all Wagner Group men began earlier in the month, with a second phase to remove the rest going into effect this weekend. Wagner’s services don’t come cheap. Putin recently admitted that the Kremlin has spent around $1bn on the private military company...

“Pot, meet Kettle.”Are we actually living in the Twilight Zone?Yesterday, the U.S. Embassy in Belarus released a condemnatory statement against the “Lukashenka regime” because according to our federal government, the country’s 2020 presidential election was “fraudulent” and since then, state authorities have allegedly waged a persecutory campaign against their own people for peacefully protesting, demanding change, and “exercising their freedom of expression.”(Now, this is not to affirm or deny the narrative set forth about the sequence of events, merely the U.S. government’s response to what they allege to be true.)Here is the opening text:Three years ago, tens of thousands of...

MINSK, August 1. /TASS/. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday that he plans to expedite the establishment of a contracted army using PMC Wagner fighters billeted in Belarus as the backbone of these forces.

Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks in St. Petersburg on July 23 with Belarusian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who was quoted as saying in an apparent joking tone that fighters of Russia's Wagner mercenary group who are now training Belarus's army were keen to push across the border into NATO member Poland. "The Wagner guys have started to stress us. They want to go west. 'Let's go on a trip to Warsaw and Rzeszow'," he was quoted as saying. Poland is moving extra troops toward the border with Belarus in response to the arrival of Wagner forces who relocated there after...

More mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner military contractor rolled into Belarus on Monday, a monitoring group said, continuing their relocation to the ex-Soviet nation following last month’s short-lived mutiny. Belaruski Hajun, a Belarusian activist group that monitors troops movements in Belarus, said that a convoy of about 20 vehicles carrying Russian flags and Wagner insignia entered the country, heading toward a field camp that Belarusian authorities had offered to the company. The group said it was a third Wagner convoy entering the country since last week. (snip) Putin’s comments appeared to reflect his efforts to secure the loyalty of Wagner mercenaries,...

Belarus’ dictatorial president Alexander Lukasheko is getting ever closer to the Kremlin - this week he even brokered a truce between the Wagner group and president Putin to prevent a march on Moscow. But Belarusians don’t want to be a vassal of Russia and - outside of this small country’s borders - a group of exiled pro-democracy protesters are taking up arms and training themselves to fight back. So can they overthrow Europe's last dictator? And if they do reclaim their country, could it be pivotal to the war in Ukraine?

Update from Ukraine | The Failed Military Coup in Ruzzia | Debrief | Prigozhyn lost the war https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCiO-pYBrRs The summary of the situation of Russian re-invasion to Ukraine covering the last 48 hours, as of 24th June 2023 – 22:00 (Kyiv time). https://militaryland.net/news/invasion-day-486-summary/ *** Great interactive map with viewer controlled Map magnification tool to use for each Front! https://militaryland.net/maps/

Lukashenka agreed with Prigozhin to stop military convoys According to the press service of the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, having enlisted the support of Vladimir Putin, spent the whole day negotiating with the head of Wagner PMC Yevgeny Prigozhin. As a result, the parties came to a mutually beneficial agreement, after which the movement of armed persons of the Wagner company on Russian territory was stopped. https://twitter.com/djuric_zlatko/status/1672655608506466306

Civil War Starts in Russia after Russian forces attacked the Wagner PMC, which has now led to outright war being called between the Russian government and forces loyal to Prighozin. Contact with Vladimir Putin has been lost for now with military blockades being set up around Moscow, and firefights breaking out in the Rostov region of Russia. Meanwhile Ukraine has declared a General offensive across all fronts and is reported to be making massive progress.

Russia has already stationed a first batch of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, Vladimir Putin says. Speaking at an economic forum, he said they would only be used if Russia's territory or state was threatened. The US government says there is no indication the Kremlin plans to use nuclear weapons to attack Ukraine. "We don't see any indications that Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said after Mr Putin's comments. Belarus is a key Russian ally and served as a launchpad for Mr Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year....

Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko has been taken seriously ill for the second time this month in Moscow, reports say. The 68-year-old was said to have been hospitalised in a 'critical' condition after collapsing during a trip to meet close ally Vladimir Putin. He was seen struggling to speak and with a bandaged arm last week after disappearing from the public eye on May 9, sparking rumours around his health. Despite efforts by local authorities to end speculation with photographs and video of the leader performing duties on May 15, doctors are again raising health concerns. His office previously refused to...

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that Russia has started moving tactical nuclear weapons to his country. “We had to prepare storage areas and stuff. We have done this, so the movement of nuclear weapons has already begun," Lukashenko told Russia’s Pervy TV. Lukashenko, who was on a trip to Moscow, said some of the weapons might already be transferred. He refused to specify the number of weapons and locations of their storage in Belarus and said: "Don't worry about nuclear weapons, we are responsible for this."

that he was seriously ill. The Belarusian outlet, Pul Pervogo, posted the photo of the 68-year-old on its Telegram channel - which is known for reporting on the president - after his whereabouts were unknown for almost a week. The channel said the president was working at a central air force command base. In the post, he is standing stern-faced as he receives a salute with a bandage tied to his left hand. Mr Lukashenko had not been seen in public since last Tuesday (9 May) at Victory Day events in Moscow, and later in the Belarusian capital, Minsk. The...

SPECULATION is rising that Vladimir Putin’s close war ally, Belarus tyrant Alexander Lukashenko is seriously ill - or even dead. He has not been seen since in public since he was rushed to the airport with an ambulance in tow in Moscow after attending Russia’s Victory Day military parade on Tuesday. The Duma announced late day on May 14 that Lukashenko is sick, but "does not have COVID". First Deputy Chairman of the Duma said: "There's nothing so supernatural there, it's not Covid. A person just got sick. "Despite the fact that the person fell ill, he considered it his...

Belarus' leader Alexander Lukashenko has missed a major state celebration, further fuelling health speculation. The autocratic politician, 68, usually speaks publicly at the annual National Flag, Emblem and Anthem Day event but his prime minister read a message on his behalf on Sunday. Last week, Mr Lukashenko left Moscow soon after Victory Day parade, skipping lunch with President Vladimir Putin. Mr Lukashenko looked visibly tired, and his right hand was bandaged. He was last seen in public laying flowers in the capital Minsk during Belarus' own Victory Day celebrations on 9 May - a few hours after returning from the...