Why Belarus Is Helping Russia in Its War in Ukraine

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After breaking away from a crumbling Soviet Union in the early 1990s, Belarus became increasingly aligned with Russia, unlike its neighbors. Those bonds strengthened with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Longtime President Alexander Lukashenko has allowed Belarus to be used as a staging ground — and base for Russian nuclear weapons — while avoiding sending his own troops to take part in the war. The tight embrace is payback after Russian President Vladimir Putin bankrolled his government for many years and came to Lukashenko’s aid following a disputed 2020 election that sparked a popular uprising, repression and sanctions. The bond was evident again in late June when Lukashenko offered the mutinous commander of the Russian mercenary Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, sanctuary in Belarus — a gesture that helped to defuse the most serious ever challenge to Putin’s rule.