Belarusians have been facing a "new wave of repression" in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, said a report Thursday by the world's biggest security organisation, the OSCE. At least 1,486 people were being held in Belarus on politically motivated charges as of last month, the report seen by AFP said. Since the Ukraine…

Belarus said on Tuesday it was forced to host Russian nuclear weapons due to "unprecedented" Western pressure, insisting their deployment did not violate international agreements.

The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Sunday that Brussels was ready to impose new sanctions on Belarus if Minsk were to host Russian nuclear weapons.

Belarus handed a 10-year jail term to Nobel Prize winning activist Ales Bialiatski on Friday, drawing sweeping international condemnation.

Belarus strongman and close Kremlin ally Alexander Lukashenko said during a visit to China Wednesday that his country fully supports an initiative put forward by Beijing to achieve peace in Ukraine.

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday backed a plan to set up joint military training centres with Belarus, with fears mounting that Minsk could enter the Ukraine conflict to fight with Moscow.

Russian troops will conduct military exercises in Belarus, which neighbours Ukraine, the Interfax news agency said on Monday, citing the defence ministry in Moscow. In October, Belarus announced the formation of a joint regional force with Moscow with several thousand Russian servicemen arriving in the ex-Soviet country. "The final assessment of the combat capability and…

Minsk said Tuesday that a contingent of Belarusian troops deploying alongside Russian forces was a "purely defensive" grouping whose aim was to defend the borders of the ex-Soviet republic closely aligned with Russia.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, claimed Monday that Ukraine was preparing an attack on his country's territory. "I've said already that today Ukraine is not just discussing but planning strikes on the territory of Belarus," state news agency Belta quoted Lukashenko as saying during a meeting with security…

Moscow's ally Belarus on Thursday played down reports of overnight explosions at a military airbase near the border with Ukraine that is said to be used by Russian troops.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko admitted on Thursday that he ran an authoritarian state but claimed there were no political prisoners in his isolated country.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko claimed on Tuesday that the West was preparing to attack Russia via Belarus.