Russia pressured Belarus to open new front against Ukraine, sources say

Russia has pressured its closest ally Belarus to open a new front against Ukraine, current and former Russian and European officials said, as Moscow struggles to advance in a war now entering its fourth year.

Russia began making the demands to Belarus early this year, the officials told the Wall Street Journal.

The officials said Russia aims to use Belarus as a springboard to expand the front in Ukraine. They added that Moscow also sought to use Belarusian territory to conduct unconventional operations targeting NATO member states.

If accurate, the reports suggest Russia may be weighing options to escalate the conflict to a "dangerous" level as it struggles to advance in eastern Ukraine, analysts said.

President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and has kept the war going for four years.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, whose country borders both Russia and Ukraine, has long displayed his military closeness with Putin. Russia used Belarusian territory during the early stages of its 2022 invasion.

Sources said there are currently no signs that Russia's plans to use Belarus in military operations are imminent, but the possibility remains on the table. Russia continues to pressure Belarus and is pushing for the use of Belarusian territory to launch drone strikes against Ukraine, the officials added.

Belarus, however, has since maintained a stance of keeping its distance from the war.

Last month, the Belarusian presidential office said it held a phone call at France's initiative, during which the two sides "discussed relations between Belarus and the EU, particularly France, along with regional issues." According to AFP, citing sources, French President Emmanuel Macron on May 24 "stressed the dangers of Belarus being drawn into Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine" and urged Minsk to take steps to improve relations with Europe.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also recently claimed that Russia is pulling Belarus into the war, saying he would reinforce troops in northern regions near Belarus and step up diplomatic pressure on Minsk.

The call between the French and Belarusian leaders took place amid an outcry over Russia's launch of an Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile at the Kyiv region of Ukraine the previous night.

Macron wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that he "condemns this attack and the launch of the Oreshnik missile," calling it "above all a sign that Russia's war of aggression is in trouble."

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