Belarus

Stories 21 - 40 | << Prev   Next >>

Lukashenko: Wagner Chief Is Back in Russia

He says no decision has been made on Wagner fighters moving to Belarus

(Newser) - Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin reportedly went to Belarus last week as part of the deal to end the mercenary group's mutiny against Russian military leadership—and while some observers expected him to end up falling out of a tall building in Minsk, he is now back in Russia,...

Exiled Wagner Leader Says He Was Fighting Traitors
Prigozhin Issues New Message
Jul 3, 2023 5:15 PM CDT

Prigozhin Issues New Message

Leader of failed rebellion tells supporters to watch for victories in Ukraine

(Newser) - Supporters hoping to hear from Yevgeny Prigozhin got their way Monday. After a week of public silence, the exiled head of the Wagner Group posted a 41-second voice message about his failed uprising in Russia last month, Politico reports. "I want you to understand that our 'March of...

Lukashenko Says Prigozhin Can Stay for 'Some Time'

'Belarusians don't welcome war criminal Prigozhin,' opposition leader says

(Newser) - Yevgeny Prigozhin, owner of the private army of prison recruits and other mercenaries who have fought some of the deadliest battles in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, escaped prosecution for his abortive armed rebellion against the Kremlin and arrived Tuesday in Belarus. The exile of the 62-year-old owner of the Wagner...

What the Peace Deal Means for Wagner Group

Its fighters face a choice as group surrenders military equipment to Russian Army

(Newser) - Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is rumored to have arrived in Belarus— his new home after launching an armed rebellion that served as the greatest threat in decades to Russian President Vladimir Putin's leadership. Independent Belarusian military monitoring project Belaruski Hajun said a business jet used by Prigozhin landed...

Lukashenko Saved the Day. Wait, Lukashenko?

Belarus leader is making the most of his PR moment, but analysts are skeptical

(Newser) - Russia appeared to be very much on the brink of what Vladimir Putin called a "civil war" when an unexpected savior emerged to broker a deal : Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko . Or at least, that is the official version being told by state media in Belarus. The rest of the...

Wagner Chief Says He's Halting Advance to Moscow

Belarus reports it negotiated a deal with Prigozhin to end the Russian threat

(Newser) - The head of the armed mercenary force rolling toward Moscow announced Saturday that he was halting the advance, as Belarus said it had negotiated a deal with Yevgeny Prigozhin. The Wagner Group troops are "turning our columns around," Prigozhin said in an audio message on Telegram, per CNN...

Lukashenko Boasts of What Russia Has Sent His Way

But it's unclear if the tactical nuclear weapons have truly arrived in Belarus

(Newser) - Some three weeks after Belarus signed a deal allowing Russia to deploy tactical nuclear weapons on its territory, the Belarusian president suggested some of those weapons are in place. Bloomberg reports delivery wasn't supposed to occur until construction of a nuclear storage facility in Belarus is completed around July...

Belarus Prez Promises Nuclear Weapons to 'Everyone'

He urges other countries to join Russia-Belarus union

(Newser) - Belarus has signed a deal to allow Russia to deploy nuclear weapons on its territory but President Alexander Lukashenko apparently doesn't want other former members of the Soviet Union to feel left out. In an interview aired on a state-run Russian channel Sunday, the Belarusian leader promised that "...

Belarus Signs Russia Nuclear Weapons Deal

Weapons can now be deployed in Belarusian territory

(Newser) - Russia and Belarus signed a deal on Thursday formalizing the procedure for deploying Russian nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory. Control of the weapons will remain with Moscow. The move formalized a deal agreed on earlier by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, the AP reports. Putin announced...

Lukashenko Misses Major Events, Sparking Health Rumors

Belarus opposition leader says people should be 'well prepared for any scenario'

(Newser) - The authoritarian leader of Belarus has been absent from key events in recent days, sparking rumors that his health is failing. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko last appeared in public at events in Moscow and Minsk on May 9 to commemorate victory in World War II, reports Reuters . Observers said the...

Belarus Sentences Dissident to 8 Years in Penal Colony

Roman Protasevich was arrested in 2021 after an airliner he was on was forced down

(Newser) - A court in Minsk has sentenced an opposition activist whose flight was forced down by Belarus in 2021 so he could be taken into custody to eight years in a penal colony. State media said Wednesday that Roman Protasevich, 27, was charged with organizing mass riots, calling for sanctions against...

Poland Put Razor Wire Along Russia Border, Goes a Step Further

Nation to install barrier with 24-hour monitoring along its land border with Russia

(Newser) - Poland has begun building a state-of-the-art electronic barrier at its land border with Russia's Kaliningrad exclave to monitor and counteract any illegal activity, the Polish interior minister said Tuesday. The barrier, which will be equipped with 24-hour monitoring cameras and motion detectors, will run for 130 miles and is...

Belarus Sends Anti-War Dad Back to Russia

Alexei Moskalyov fled country after he was convicted of 'discrediting' military

(Newser) - A Russian man who fled the country after he was convicted of "discrediting" the country's military has been extradited from Belarus, a human rights group says. Alexei Moskalyov, 54, was arrested in Minsk last month, two days after he fled house arrest in Yefremov, south of Moscow. Hours...

Russia to Put Tactical Nuclear Weapons in Belarus

Putin argues it's like the US agreements with European nations

(Newser) - President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that Russia will station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. The allies struck an agreement after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko raised the possibility, Putin told Russian state television, per the BBC . Russia will maintain control of the weapons, he said, likening the move to the US...

Nobel Peace Prize Winner Gets 'Simply Appalling' Sentence

Belarus activist Ales Bialiatski sentenced to 10 years in prison

(Newser) - Ales Bialiatski was in prison when he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year and he was sentenced to another 10 years on Friday. The 60-year-old, one of three activists in Eastern Europe who shared the prize in 2022, was convicted of financing "activities that grossly violate public...

Drones Hit Russian Spy Plane, Belarusian Saboteurs Say

Opposition group claims responsibility for damaging Beriev A-50

(Newser) - Belarus opposition leaders said they launched a drone attack against a Russian military surveillance aircraft, successfully damaging it. The head of the exiled organization BYPOL claimed responsibility Sunday for the strike—which he said took place at an airfield near Minsk, the capital of Belarus—on the Telegram messaging app,...

It Looks Like Russian Athletes Will Compete in 2024 Games

But they may have to be neutral and not support the Ukraine war

(Newser) - Russia's path to sending a team to the Paris Olympics next year has become clearer amid fierce objections from Ukraine. The International Olympic Committee indicated on Wednesday it favors officially neutral athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus at the 2024 Olympics, despite a plea from Ukrainian President Volodymyr...

They Came to Pick Up Their Nobels, Slam Putin's War

Peace prize winners from Ukraine, Belarus, Russia blasted Russian leader's invasion of Ukraine

(Newser) - The winners of this year's Nobel Peace Prize from Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine shared their visions of a fairer world and denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine during Saturday's award ceremony. Oleksandra Matviichuk of Ukraine's Center for Civil Liberties dismissed calls for a political...

Belarus Claims Alfred Nobel Is 'Turning in His Grave'

European leaders, meanwhile, praise recognition for rights activists in Belarus, Ukraine, Russia

(Newser) - Officials in Europe praised the awarding of this year's Nobel Peace Prize to activists standing up for human rights and democracy in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, while authorities in Belarus scorned the move. "I hope the Russian authorities read the justification for the peace prize and take it...

Belarus Dissident's Girlfriend Hears Her Fate in Court

Sofia Sapega gets 6 years behind bars for inciting social hatred; Roman Protasevich's trial pending

(Newser) - Update: It's been a year since the plane on which Belarusian dissident journalist Roman Protasevich and his Russian girlfriend were flying was forced to land so the pair could be detained by Belarus. Now, the latter has heard her official fate. Sofia Sapega, 24, was sentenced Friday by a...

Stories 21 - 40 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser