Five candidates' names will appear on the ballot for a presidential election in Belarus on Sunday, but for the past 31 years there has only been one winner. In power since 1994, Alexander Lukashenko is assured of a new five-year term in a vote that the exiled opposition describes as a sham.

Analysts argue that Belarus is no longer just a Russian ally. Instead, the Kremlin is transforming it into a strategic partner to help extend Moscow’s influence globally. The Kremlin plans to leverage its gains in Belarus to offset the costs of its prolonged war against Ukraine,

Russian troops used Belarus as a staging ground during their February 2022 assault on Kyiv. Meanwhile, Lukashenko has boasted that Belarus is playing host to dozens of Russian nuclear weapons, and revealed in December that he was anticipating the arrival of new hypersonic missiles .

The aggressor country of russia intends to annex Belarus within the next ten years in order to further use the economic resources and geographical position to

Early voting began on Jan. 21 in the Belarusian presidential election scheduled for Jan. 26, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.

The independent U.S.-based think tank said that the Kremlin is in "the endgame" of its plans to take over its neighbor.

Belarus and Russia are discussing the possibility of signing an interstate program in the field of aircraft building until 2035.

Belarusian Ambassador to Russia Aleksandr Rogozhnik and Governor of Russia's Irkutsk Oblast Igor Kobzev held a meeting to discuss a number of new promising bilateral projects in Moscow on .

Ales Bialiatski, a human rights advocate who won the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, is serving a 10-year prison sentence in Belarus and is one of hundreds of its political prisoners.

Belarusian government bonds replacing Eurobonds have gained access to trading on the Moscow Exchange and the Belarusian Currency and Stock Exchange, Belarus' Finance Ministry said. "Replacement government bonds of the Republic of Belarus of issue No.

Under the leadership of President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko, the country's economy and society are developing rapidly – as stated

A strategic cooperation agreement that Russia and Iran are poised to sign will not include a mutual defence clause like pacts that Moscow has signed with Pyongyang and Minsk, the state TASS news agency reported on Thursday,