Russia will station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday, sending a warning to NATO over its military support for Ukraine and escalating a standoff with the West.
What has Alexander Lukashenko been up to in China? The purpose of the Belarusian President’s three-day visit, according to state media outlet BelTA, was to continue ‘the long-term course of building friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation’ between the two countries. But the truth is somewhat murkier.
The little-known Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL) had, with little attention, issued grants to nearly 2,500 county elections offices across 47 states and the District of Columbia before the 2020 election, using $350 million donated by Facebook—now Meta—founder Mark Zuckerberg for its Safe Elections Project.
Russia and Belarus began joint military exercises on Monday, which have triggered fears in Kyiv and the West that Moscow could use its ally to launch a new ground offensive in Ukraine.
Russia will send nuclear capable short-range missile systems to its ally Belarus in the coming months, President Vladimir Putin has said.
He said Iskander-M systems “can fire ballistic and cruise missiles, both conventional and nuclear types”.
The European Union is drawing up sweeping economic sanctions to target Belarus, including measures to hit the personal income of President Lukashenko, after the forced landing of a Ryanair flight carrying a dissident last month.
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