Russia moves ahead with deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus
Moscow, RussiaReuters Russia moved ahead on Thursday with a plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, whose leader said the warheads were already on the move, in the Kremlin’s first deployment of such bombs outside Russia since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union. The US State Department denounced the deployment plan, but said […]
Ukraine investigating role of Belarus in transfers of children – prosecutor
Amsterdam, The Netherlands Reuters Ukraine is investigating the alleged role of Belarus in the forced transfer of children from Russian-occupied territories, the office of the prosecutor general told Reuters on Tuesday. The announcement came in response to a report by the exiled Belarusian opposition alleging that 2,150 Ukrainian children, including orphans aged six to 15, […]
Belarus opposition told to “be ready” for democracy push as rumours of leader’s ill health swirl
Reuters Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya told her supporters on Monday to be ready to grab any chance to turn her country into a democracy as speculation about the health of veteran President Alexander Lukashenko swirled. Shortly after her message to supporters via Twitter, a Belarusian state news channel released a photo of Lukashenko, […]
Belarus PM replaces Lukashenko at ceremony, sparks speculation
Reuters Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has not been seen in public since Tuesday, did not appear on Sunday at a ceremony in the capital, Minsk, triggering speculation that the veteran leader is seriously ill. The BelTA state news agency reported that Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko read a message from Lukashenko during an annual ceremony […]
“It was heartbreaking” – Ukraine children back home after alleged deportation
Ukraine-Belarus border Reuters More than 30 children were reunited with their families in Ukraine this weekend after a long operation to bring them back home from Russia or Russian-occupied Crimea, where they had been taken from areas occupied by Russian forces during the war. Mothers hugged sons and daughters as they crossed the border from […]
Ukraine mocks Russian claim to have taken Bakhmut, says attacks repelled
Kyiv, Ukraine Reuters Kyiv scorned Russian claims to have captured eastern Bakhmut on Monday, saying its foes had raised a victory flag over “some kind of toilet” and that Ukrainian forces had repelled nearly 20 attacks along the city’s front line in the last 24 hours. The battle for the mining city and logistics hub […]
Ukraine’s Zelenskiy thanks Bakhmut defenders as Wagner head says town has fallen
Kyiv, Ukraine Reuters Fighting around the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut remained “particularly hot”, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, giving no indication the city had finally fallen to Russia as claimed by the founder of the Wagner mercenary force. Yevgeny Prigozhin said his troops, involved in a months-long effort to encircle and capture the bombed-out city, […]
Russia to place nuclear weapons near Belarus’ borders with NATO
Reuters Russia will move its tactical nuclear weapons close to the western borders of Belarus, the Russian envoy to Minsk said on Sunday, placing them at NATO’s threshold in a move likely to further escalate Moscow’s standoff with the West. In one of the Russia’s most pronounced nuclear signals since the beginning of its invasion […]
Putin says Moscow to station nuclear weapons in Belarus, first time since 1990s
Reuters Russia will station tactical nuclear weapons in neighbouring Belarus, President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday, marking the first time since the mid-1990s that Moscow will have based such arms outside the country. Putin made the announcement at a time of growing tensions with the West over the Ukraine war and as some Russian commentators […]
Russia isolated as UN marks one year of Ukraine war
United NationsReuters The United Nations overwhelmingly isolated Russia on Thursday, marking one year since Moscow invaded Ukraine by calling for a “comprehensive, just and lasting peace” and again demanding Moscow withdraw its troops and stop fighting. Just a day after China’s top diplomat visited Moscow and pledged a deeper partnership with Russia, Beijing abstained on […]