Russia Denies Belarus Pressure; Minsk Blames West
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied a Wall Street Journal report that Russia pressured Belarus to expand the war, calling the story "does not correspond to reality" and branding Belarus "our closest ally" on June 25, 2026.
- Belarusian Defence Minister Viktor Khrenin accused the West of stoking border tensions, citing reinforced NATO troop formations, upgraded infrastructure, and "a blatant attempt to drag Belarus into the war" in a speech to graduating officers.
- The Wall Street Journal reported on June 24, 2026 that Russia wanted to use Belarus as a springboard to step up attacks on Ukraine and threatened to cut financial support if Minsk refused to cooperate.
- President Zelenskyy said Belarusian signal relay stations had been guiding Russian drone strikes; after giving Lukashenko a one-week ultimatum to remove them, Zelenskyy claimed on June 24 the stations had stopped working — though Reuters said it could not independently verify his assessment.
- Russia's reliance on Belarus's two large oil refineries has deepened sharply, with rail shipments of Belarusian gasoline to Russia surging nearly 13-fold and diesel shipments tripling in the first five months of 2026 versus the same period in 2025, as Ukraine's strikes on Russian refineries tightened fuel supplies.
- Belarus has not sent troops to fight alongside Russia but allowed Putin to use its territory as a launchpad for the 2022 invasion and later agreed to host Russian tactical nuclear missiles, while conducting frequent joint military exercises with Moscow.
Why it matters: The 13-fold surge in Belarusian gasoline shipments to Russia gives Minsk quiet leverage even as Moscow publicly denies trying to drag it deeper into the war, tying the two allies together through fuel dependence rather than troops on the ground.
Ask SkimNews
