Five candidates' names will appear on the ballot for a presidential election in Belarus on Sunday, but for the past 31 years there has only been one winner.

Analysts argue that Belarus is no longer just a Russian ally. Instead, the Kremlin is transforming it into a strategic partner to help extend Moscow’s influence globally. The Kremlin plans to leverage its gains in Belarus to offset the costs of its prolonged war against Ukraine,

Russian troops used Belarus as a staging ground during their February 2022 assault on Kyiv. Meanwhile, Lukashenko has boasted that Belarus is playing host to dozens of Russian nuclear weapons, and revealed in December that he was anticipating the arrival of new hypersonic missiles .

The analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) point out that Russia's attempts to de facto annex Belarus pose strategic risks to the United States, NATO and Ukraine. Source: ISW Quote from ISW: "Moscow’s effort to de facto annex Belarus through the Union State framework,

The aggressor country of russia intends to annex Belarus within the next ten years in order to further use the economic resources and geographical position to

The independent U.S.-based think tank said that the Kremlin is in "the endgame" of its plans to take over its neighbor.

Belarusian Ambassador to Russia Aleksandr Rogozhnik and Governor of Russia's Irkutsk Oblast Igor Kobzev held a meeting to discuss a number of new promising bilateral projects in Moscow on .

Early voting began on Jan. 21 in the Belarusian presidential election scheduled for Jan. 26, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.

The draft resolution of the European Parliament on the election in Belarus is another biased and absurd move, member of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Aleksandr Shpakovsky told BelTA.

Over the past three years, over 288 thousand Ukrainian citizens have arrived in Belarus. This was reported today, January 10, in The State Border Committee of the Republic.

"Replacement government bonds of the Republic of Belarus of issue No. 331 (ISIN BYM000001818) are currently available for trading on the Belarusian Currency and Stock Exchange (BCSE) and Moscow Exchange (MOEX) platforms," the Finance Ministry said.

Pezeshkian, on his first Kremlin visit since winning the presidency last July, will hold talks with Putin focusing on bilateral ties and international issues before signing the treaty