Why Belarus Is Forging Ever-Closer Ties With Russia

After breaking away from a crumbling Soviet Union in the early 1990s, Belarus became increasingly aligned with Russia, unlike its neighbors. That bond strengthened as Russia waged its war against Ukraine.

Longtime President Alexander Lukashenko, who’s been in power since 1994, allowed Belarus to be used as a staging ground for Russia’s military strikes on Ukraine — and a base for its nuclear weapons — while avoiding sending his own troops to take part in the war. This assistance followed Russian President Vladimir Putin bankrolling Lukashenko’s government for many years in return for political loyalty.