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Belarus

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Belarus. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Minsk

Head of State

President Alexander Lukashenko

Head of Government

Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko

last updated:

29 November, 2024

President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus delivers a speech in 2020. Photo: AP

Russia

Belarus election poised to extend 30-year rule of ‘Europe’s last dictator’

With opponents jailed or exiled, Alexander Lukashenko has also brought polling forward, with protests considered less likely in frigid weather.

24 Jan 2025 - 10:59PMvideocam

Russia

Growing risk of nuclear powers armed clash, Russia security official says

24 Jan 2025 - 6:55PMvideocam

Ukraine war

Ukraine war: Moscow, Kyiv exchange 50 POWs in first return of 2025

16 Jan 2025 - 12:48AMvideocam

Diplomacy

Opinion | Spurned by the West, Russia ally Belarus is extravagantly courting China

Sanctioned by the West and unsure of Russia’s support, Belarus is banking on economic ties with China as Lukashenko plans pre-election visit.

8 Jan 2025 - 4:30PMvideocam

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko in Beijing, China, on December 4, 2023. Photo: Xinhua

Viral stories

‘Balenciaga of Belarus’ goes viral for festive bubble wrap quirky outfits costing US$90

Bizarre outfits promise to make wearer stand out in crowd, but followers of fashion on social media are divided on pricey items.

6 Jan 2025 - 6:00PM

Japan

Japanese ‘trainspotters’ detained in Belarus for spying spark tensions

One expert believes the arrests highlight Belarus’s paranoia near its border with Ukraine.

20 Dec 2024 - 9:30AM

Trending in China

Chinese man finds love with tall Belarusian woman after many failed blind dates

Tian says he always believed he could find true love, and that’s when Namei appeared.

9 Dec 2024 - 8:02AM

Tian’s journey through the world of blind dates was filled with ups and downs, but everything changed when he met the stunning Namei. Photo: SCMP composite/Douyin

Russia

Ukraine strikes Russia with Western missiles as Putin updates nuclear doctrine

Ukrainian forces conducted their first strike in Russia using Western-supplied ATACMS missiles.

19 Nov 2024 - 8:03PM

Ukraine war

Putin changes Russia’s nuclear doctrine in warning over strikes from Ukraine

Moscow will now consider any assault by a non-nuclear state supported by a nuclear power to be a joint attack and could hit back with nukes.

26 Sep 2024 - 11:41AMvideocam

Japan

Japanese man accused of spying on military sites, Chinese projects in Belarus

The man was held in the city of Gomel and had displayed interest in the ‘broadest spheres of interest’ in the country

5 Sep 2024 - 11:42AM

Ukrainian servicemen stand at a position close to the border with Belarus. Photo: AP

Diplomacy

Opinion | Why Belarus sees China, not West, as answer to balancing Russia ties

Alexander Lukashenko believes he can maintain strong relations with both China and Russia without having to reduce cooperation with either.

30 Aug 2024 - 6:57AMvideocam

Chinese Premier Li Qiang (left) meets Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at the Palace of Independence in Minsk, Belarus, on August 22. Belarus has stepped up its engagement with China in recent years as it tries to lessen its dependence on neighbouring Russia. Photo: Xinhua

Ukraine war

Belarus accuses Ukraine of violating airspace, sends more troops to border

President Lukashenko says air defence forces destroyed ‘about a dozen’ of Kyiv’s drones linked to its offensive in Russia’s Kursk region.

11 Aug 2024 - 4:31AMvideocam

China’s military

Chinese and Belarusian troops practice seizing airport near Ukraine border

The ‘anti-terrorist’ exercise was held just days after Nato denounced Beijing as a ‘decisive enabler’ of Russia’s war effort.

19 Jul 2024 - 5:23PMvideocam

China-EU relations

As China boosts ties with Russia, Belarus, Europe ponders possible rising threat

European Union may reconsider its relationship with the world’s second-largest market because of Beijing’s support for Moscow.

15 Jul 2024 - 3:36PMvideocam

Chinese soldiers arrive in Belarus to take part in a joint anti-terrorist training exercise in July. Photo: Belarusian Defence Ministry

China’s military

Chinese troops in Belarus for ‘anti-terrorist training’ near Poland, Ukraine

Exercise near border city of Brest is likely to add to concerns among EU and Nato members.

8 Jul 2024 - 4:51PMvideocam

Chinese troops are taking part in a joint military exercise in Belarus for the first time. Photo: Belarusian Ministry of Defence

Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Explainer | Why is Russia hosting a World Friendship Games, 40 years after the last one?

With athletes from Russia and Belarus banned from the Olympics, officials have relaunched an event last seen during the Cold War.

4 Jul 2024 - 9:22AM

Russia

Belarus to join Russia’s second-stage nuclear exercises

In theory the use of tactical nuclear weapons could deliver a stunning shock to the West without necessarily prompting a full-blown nuclear war, though the risk of triggering a cycle of escalation would be huge.

10 Jun 2024 - 6:33PM

Vladimir Putin

Russia’s Putin arrives in Uzbekistan on third foreign trip of his new term

Russian president is to hold talks with Uzbekistan’s President Shavkay Mirziyoyev which are expected to focus on deepening the countries’ relations.

27 May 2024 - 12:17PM

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev welcomes Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. Photo: Sputnik via AFP

Ukraine war

Polish man arrested, suspected of spying for Russia to aid Zelensky assassination plot

Poland’s National Prosecutor said the man, arrested on Wednesday, was accused of being prepared to pass airport security information to Russian agents.

19 Apr 2024 - 5:49AM

Ukraine war

Kremlin says Ukraine peace talks without Russia ‘make no sense’

Switzerland on Wednesday announced that a high-level conference on the Ukraine conflict would be held on June 15-16, but without Russia.

12 Apr 2024 - 1:01PM

Russia

Locals protest as Russian regions face worst flooding for decades

Russia warned of ‘unprecedented’ flooding in coming days as locals in a city partially submerged by rising waters took to the streets in rare protest at the authorities’ handling of the crisis.

9 Apr 2024 - 1:38PM

A flooded part of the city of Orsk, Russia’s Orenburg region. Photo: Kommersant via AFP

Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Explainer | How will Russian and Belarusian athletes be cleared to compete at Paris Olympics?

After initially being banned, the athletes can now take part after passing some vetting criteria, including not actively supporting the war in Ukraine.

27 Mar 2024 - 3:00PM

Russia

Moscow concert hall attackers first headed for Belarus, not Ukraine: Lukashenko

Belarusian president, a close Putin ally, said Belarus and Russia had coordinated actions as suspects fled to Bryansk, bordering Ukraine and Belarus, where they were apprehended.

27 Mar 2024 - 10:47AMvideocam

Russia

Launch of Russian Soyuz spacecraft aborted seconds before blast-off

The crew – a Russian, a Belarusian and an American headed for the International Space Station – were safely evacuated.

22 Mar 2024 - 2:54AM

Sexual harassment and assault

Thousands mourn Liza, who fled Belarus only to be raped and killed in Poland

A man has been charged with assault for the attack on a 25-year-old migrant that has sparked outrage among women’s rights groups and fellow refugees.

7 Mar 2024 - 5:05AM

A woman holds a candle as she attends a vigil on Wednesday for Liza, a 25 year-old refugee from Belarus who died after being attacked, raped and severely beaten in downtown Warsaw. Photo: AFP

Russia

Lukashenko to run for president in 2025, Belarus blasts US over poll criticism

The president spoke on the day his nation – Russia’s neighbour and ally – held parliamentary elections described as a sham by the opposition.

26 Feb 2024 - 6:40AMvideocam

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko addresses the media in Minsk on Sunday. Photo: Belarusian Presidential Press Service via AP

United States

US targets network in Hong Kong, Belgium and Sweden with new Russia sanctions

The leader, Belgian businessman Hans De Geetere, was also charged over a scheme to export military-grade US technology to end users in China and Russia.

7 Dec 2023 - 2:30AM

China trade

Rail routes between China, Europe go off track as freight operators skip Russia

Russia’s invasion has limited shipment routes from China to Europe and raised interest in alternative and nascent routes – including across the choppy Caspian Sea. But relevant governments need to get on board.

24 Nov 2023 - 9:51AMvideocam

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