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Vladimir Putin is demanding urgent potato imports from Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, while he delays supplying the ally with promised notorious Oreshnik horror missiles. Putin has made the shameful admission that he has run out of spuds - one of his country’s leading food staples - amid economic meltdown during his war with Ukraine. It now appears Belarus will not get the lethal missiles until after Lukashenko supplies Putin with new exports of potatoes which have spiralled in prices in Russia. The Minsk tyrant has even cancelled sanctions against imports from the EU to stock up to supply Russia. -snip-...

Russian president Vladimir Putin has acknowledged crop shortages as pressure on the country’s economy continues to mount. Pressure is mounting on Russia amid labour shortages, international sanctions, record interest rates, and inflation, but Putin’s admission of shortages of key crops marks a milestone in the nation’s woes. Speaking yesterday in a televised meeting, he said: “Yesterday, I met with representatives from various business sectors, including agriculture. It turns out that we don’t have enough potatoes. “I spoke with Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko. He said, ‘We’ve already sold everything to Russia’.” Potato shortages have become a serious problem in neighbouring Belarus, with...

The head of Russia's mercenary outfit Wagner said it could take months to capture the embattled Ukraine city of Bakhmut and slammed Moscow's "monstrous bureaucracy" for slowing military gains. Russia has been trying to encircle the battered industrial city and wrest it ahead of Feb. 24, the first anniversary of what it terms its "special military operation" in Ukraine. "I think it's (going to be in) March or in April," Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin said in one of several messages posted online overnight. "To take Bakhmut you have to cut all supply routes. It's a significant task," he said, adding:...

In a frank discussion about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his belief that Russian President Vladimir Putin's time is running out, stating, "He will die soon, and that's a fact, and it will come to an end." Zelensky also said he believes Putin is terrified of losing power within Russia during a roundtable conversation with journalists, including the BBC's Jeremy Bowen. Meanwhile, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte issued a stern warning to Russia, emphasizing that the alliance would unwaveringly support Poland or any other member in the event of an attack. During a visit to the country,...

Russia and Belarus can form a joint parliament if they are ready. This was stated by the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, speaking at the plenary session of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation. The idea of ​​creating a parliament of the union state was rejected in early 2023. Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Russia and Belarus has been operating since 1996, which includes 36 deputies from each country, the newspaper "Parliamentskaya Gazeta" reminds. "The Belarusian-Russian integration process must be made irreversible," Lukashenko believes. Discussing the prospects of Belarus joining Russia, Lukashenko noted: "We must move...

Vladimir Putin has just made it easier for Russians to stand in elections in Belarus – a likely test run for deeper political integration. Russia’s president and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko are delivering a joint news conference as they meet in Moscow – about the two countries’ ‘friendship’, about ‘hostile and destabilising’ Nato and the war in Ukraine. One of the announcements focused on ‘amendments’ on the equal rights of citizens. ‘Citizens of Russia and Belarus will be able to participate in local elections in both countries,’ Putin told reporters.

Belarus foreign minister dies suddenly - one day after meeting Pope's envoy Ante Jozić amid speculation they were discussing a secret peace plan in Ukraine. CAREER SPY Makei had been foreign minister for a decade and was due tomorrow and Monday to host Vladimir Putin's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in Minsk. Lavrov's spokeswoman said Russia was 'shocked' at his passing. No cause of death was given - but several sources speculated that his demise could be suspicious. Makei was described as 'healthy'. He had been trained in the Soviet GRU and had a reputation as Lukashenko's 'grey cardinal'. While Lukashenko...

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has called on experts in his country to search for rare earth minerals, shortly after this set of elements shot to public prominence due to a possible mineral deal between the US and Ukraine. Lukashenko instructed his Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Shuleiko to ensure that Belarus is no longer geologically underdeveloped, state-run media reported. “It is the number one topic today,” the Belarusian president said, referring to rare earths, which are used in key 21st century industries such as renewable energy. “There are not a lot of them in the earth. Perhaps we have them as...

Vladimir Putin 'regrets' triggering a full-scale war costing hundreds of thousands of lives, his closest international ally has claimed. Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko said: 'We haven't talked about it, but I know him well. 'Putin didn't expect it would turn into such a war.' The close Putin crony told interviewer Mario Nawfal on X: 'When he saw a huge number of people dying, Putin instantly agreed to the negotiations to stop the conflict.' This was earlier in the war, in 2022, and, Lukashenko claimed, Putin was ready to negotiate 'on NATO, on demilitarisation, on denazification', as he described it, 'on...

Belarus’ incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko is winning the presidential election in the country with 87.6% of votes, according to an exit poll conducted by the Belarusian Youth Organizations Committee, APA reports citing TASS. According to the exit poll results, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party Oleg Gaidukevich is scoring 1.8% of the vote, entrepreneur Anna Kanopatskaya - 1.6%, first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party Sergey Syrankov - 2.7%, and leader of the Republican Party of Labor and Justice Alexander Khizhnyak - 1.2%. As many as 5.1% of voters cast their ballots against all. The exit poll...

There are times in history when countries are gripped by election fever. January 2025 in Belarus is not one of them. Drive around Minsk and you'll see no big billboards promoting the portraits of candidates. There is little campaigning. The grey skies and sleet of a Belarusian winter add to an overriding sense of inactivity. And inevitability. The outcome of the 2025 presidential election is not in doubt. Alexander Lukashenko, once dubbed "Europe's last dictator," who has ruled Belarus with an iron fist for more than 30 years, will be declared the winner and secure a seventh term in office....

A January 6th defendant on the run from the Biden Regime that was granted political asylum and refugee status by the President of Belarus is asking President Trump for help. In an exclusive interview with the Gateway Pundit, Evan Neumann of California is pleading with President Trump for a pardon so he can return home to United States to be with his two children. Neumann has spent the past 3 and a half years as a political refugee in Belarus after escaping Biden’s FBI and the Ukrainian SBU (Secret Service) by ditching his electronics and walking 18 hours through a...

Poland will not recognize Belarus’ upcoming presidential election, scheduled for January 26, upper-house Speaker Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska said on Thursday. She made the statement after meeting in Warsaw with Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who is visiting Poland. Kidawa-Błońska called the planned election a "sham," and added that elections cannot be considered free when political opponents are jailed for seeking democracy. She said she hopes parliaments in other European countries will also refuse to recognize the vote. She emphasized the need to hold Belarusian strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko accountable for human rights abuses, insisting he must face consequences for his actions....

President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus has said that more than a dozen Russian nuclear weapons have been moved to his country. On Tuesday in post on his Telegram account, he said "I brought nuclear warheads here. Not a few dozen of them." He continued, "Many people write: 'Oh, it's a joke, no one brought anything in.' They did. And the fact that they ... say that it's a joke means they missed it. They didn't even notice how we brought them in."

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Moscow could deploy its Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missiles system in Belarus in the second half of 2025, Russian state media said. Putin was responding to a request by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko during a summit in Minsk. He said Belarus would determine the targets for Oreshniks deployed on its territory.

-snip- Belarus has played a part in Russia’s war. In February 2022 Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine was launched, partly, from Belarusian territory. Why did the country’s leader allow the Kremlin to do that? “How do you know I gave permission for Belarusian territory to be used?” Lukashenko asks me. “Because Belarusian territory was used [for the invasion].” “There were exercises going on involving several thousand Russian soldiers. Putin started withdrawing these troops from where they were in southern Belarus, down a road, along the border with Ukraine. "At one point he redirected some of these troops to Kyiv. I’m...

Vladimir Putin is regretful over the war in Ukraine, according to the latest claim by one of his closest allies, as US defence officials warned North Korean troops will become 'legitimate targets' if they are seen to fight alongside Russian forces. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko delivered a wide-ranging interview with the BBC and state-owned broadcaster BelTA this week in which he was asked whether his Russian counterpart had regrets over launching his so-called 'special military operation' in Ukraine. -snip- 'Both sides suffer heavy losses... Does Putin regret it or not? Of course he regrets. He's a living man.' -snip- Ukraine's...

Opposition calls for non-recognition of vote set to extend Lukashenko’s 30-year rule. Belarus plans to hold a presidential vote, in which incumbent Alexander Lukashenko is likely to secure a seventh straight term, on January 26. The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced the date in Minsk on Wednesday. Lukashenko, a staunch ally of Russia who has been accused of manipulating previous elections and stamping out political opposition, has tightened his grip on dissent since Moscow launched its invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in February 2022. The CEC said in a statement on social media that parliament had approved the date of the...

Ukraine has accused Belarus of 'concentrating' troops on the countries' shared border and warned its military against carrying out 'unfriendly actions'. Ukrainian intelligence recorded Belarus 'concentrating a significant number of personnel.... in the Gomel region near Ukraine's northern border under the guise of exercises', Kyiv's foreign ministry said in a statement today. Belarus had allowed Russian troops to use its territory as a launchpad for their February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Kyiv has now warned Vladimir Putin-allied Belarus 'not to make tragic mistakes for their country under Moscow's pressure, and we urge its armed forces to cease unfriendly actions'. The...

Ukraine on Sunday called on Belarus to pull back what it described as significant levels of Belarusian forces and equipment deployed at their common border. The Ukrainian foreign ministry warned Belarus against making "tragic mistakes" while under pressure from Moscow. A ministry statement urged the Belarus armed forces "to stop unfriendly actions" and withdraw their troops out of range of the border. The ministry said Belarus special forces and former Wagner mercenary fighters were among the troops at the border. Their equipment included tanks, artillery, air defence systems and engineering equipment, located in the Gomel region near Ukraine's northern border.