belarus

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner mercenary group, is no longer in Belarus and there are reports that he may have returned to Russia.

China’s President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin will participate in the virtual summit, which will be Putin’s first appearance at an international event.

Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki stated that Poland wants to join NATO's nuclear weapons sharing program, in response to Russia's deployment of nuclear warheads to Belarus.

The Belarusian president, in an address marking his ex-Soviet state's national day, said the stationing of the weapons in Belarus was "my firmest initiative".

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya also expressed concern that Wagner would be used to further oppress the people of Belarus.

The New York Times reported that American officials also said there were signs that other Russian generals also may have supported Prigozhin.

Iran said it supports the rule of law in the Russian Federation and considers the latest developments there an internal Russian matter.

Belarus allowed Russia to use it as one of the launchpads for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. It has held frequent exercises with Russia and let Russian forces use its bases.

The deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus is Moscow's first move of such warheads outside Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union.