Belarus may be about to send its troops into Ukraine, US official says

On Monday it announced it was revoking its non-nuclear status after a referendum, allowing Russian weapons to be placed in Belarus. The move provoked rare protests in the country.

Images have emerged in recent days of trains loaded with tanks reportedly arriving in the city of Brest in south-west Belarus and there have been reports of missile and aircraft launches from within Belarus.

About 800 people were arrested as Belarus voted to ditch its non-nuclear status. The vote sparked the biggest protests in months as thousands took to the streets. Lukashenko has imposed a sweeping crackdown on dissent after a contested election challenged his grip on power in 2020.

The vote to change the constitution, passed by 65%, according to official data, could lead to the return of nuclear weapons to Belarusian territory for the first time since the country gave them up after the fall of the Soviet Union.