Russia pressures Belarus to join Ukraine war, future ops. against NATO

Key Points:

• Russia is pressuring Belarus to open a new front in the war against Ukraine, seeking to use Belarusian territory for drone attacks and possibly operations against NATO, according to former and current officials cited by the Wall Street Journal.
• Despite Belarus hosting around 2,000 Russian troops and facilitating increased oil and gas sales to Russia, President Alexander Lukashenko insists Belarus will not allow the war to spill onto its territory, emphasizing the country's military vulnerability.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Lukashenko to dismantle Russian ground drone stations in Belarus within a week, threatening to strike them himself; Zelensky later reported the stations had ceased operations.
• French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly warned Lukashenko against escalating Belarus's involvement in the war, highlighting the risks, while Moscow's ambassador to Minsk allegedly pressured Belarus financially to comply with Russian demands.
• The Kremlin denied Belarus's participation in the war, and Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin condemned external pressure to involve Belarus, describing it as a "blatant" attempt to drag the country into the conflict.