Putin Honors Belarus Leader Lukashenko with Russia’s Highest Award

Russian President Vladimir Putin has awarded Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko with Russia’s highest state decoration, the Order of Alexander Nevsky. The award was given to Lukashenko during a phone call on his birthday, according to a statement from the Russian Presidency. The statement noted that Putin and Lukashenko discussed their efforts to further expand mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation. Belarus has been a key ally of Russia throughout the war in Ukraine, allowing Russian troops to use its territory to launch the invasion in February 2022. While not directly involved in the conflict, Belarus has been subject to Western sanctions along with Russia due to Lukashenko’s repressive regime. In recent months, Lukashenko hosted Wagner mercenaries who staged a mutiny against Moscow’s military leadership, mediating the crisis and offering his country as a safe haven. Putin has also deployed tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus as a means of deterring Western military support to Ukraine.