In the weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine, it held joint military drills with its neighbor and ally Belarus, massing tens of thousands of soldiers along the Ukrainian border even as the two countries’ leaders denied reports that the Kremlin was planning to go to war.
As President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia meets President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus in St. Petersburg on Saturday, the Belarusian Armed Forces are once again holding “mobilization” drills, as Mr. Lukashenko — dubbed “Europe’s last dictator” — seeks to burnish his relationship with Mr. Putin, his powerful benefactor.
The military drills, which are taking place in the area bordering Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, threaten to aggravate tensions in an already volatile region and have prompted Ukraine to put its border guards on high alert.
