Putin and Lukashenko Sign Deals to Further Integrate Belarus with Russia

The agreements include trade, nuclear energy, scientific exploration, and a joint state media company, amid concerns of Belarus's potential involvement in the Ukraine war.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko have signed deals to further integrate the Belarusian economy with Russia's.
• Belarus has become a key ally in Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with its territory used by Putin to launch troops and aircraft into the country.
• Putin and Lukashenko announced deals on trade, nuclear energy and scientific exploration in the North and South Poles, and a decree to create a joint state media company for Russia and Belarus.
• The U.S.-based independent think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said that the meeting was 'advancing the Kremlin's efforts to further integrate Belarus into the Union State structure,' which Lukashenko 'has previously resisted.'
• Belarusian journalist Hanna Liubakova said there was no evidence Putin was seeking Belarusian troops for the war, but this could change if Russia declares full mobilization.

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