President Vladimir Putin visited his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko on Monday, making his first trip to Russia’s closest ally in three years as fears grow in Kyiv that Moscow is preparing to launch a new offensive in Ukraine from Belarus.
The two men have met at least six times since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, using Belarus as a staging ground for its abortive assault on Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital. But those meetings were all outside of Belarus, with most taking place in Russia. Lukashenko — who relies on Moscow for financial, fuel and security assistance to maintain his 28-year grip on power — has insisted that economic matters were to be the focus of the talks, although he acknowledged the two leaders would not avoid discussing military and security matters.