Belarusian defence ministry: military readiness checks completed

Belarus' defence ministry said on Monday it had completed a series of inspections of its armed forces' military preparedness, hours ahead of a visit to Minsk by Belarus' most important ally, Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Weeks of military manoeuvres and inspections have raised fears in Kyiv that Belarus, which acted as a staging post for Russia to launch its invasion of Ukraine in February, could be preparing to take a more active role in the conflict once again.