Belarus

Ukrainian evacuees reach Belarus as Melania Trump-brokered Oleshky ceasefire takes effect

The local ceasefire in Oleshky was reached thanks to mediation efforts by US First Lady Melania Trump with the pope's involvement.

People disembark a plane carrying residents evacuated from the Russian-controlled Ukrainian town of Oleshky, in Gomel, Belarus October 31, 2026.
CELEBRATING HIS VICTORY over Daniel Santos in Las Vegas on Nov. 14, 2009, alongside legendary promoter Bob Arum, after becoming Israel’s first major professional boxing world champion. Arum had told Foreman that promoting a Jewish world champion was one of his ambitions.

Fighting for belonging: A Jewish boxer's extraordinary journey through poverty, faith, and tragedy

FILE PHOTO: Released political prisoners arrive in Vilnius after a prisoner release from Belarus on March 19, 2026. Belarus freed 250 political prisoners on March 19, 2026 following negotiations with the United States.

Belarus frees 25 more prisoners in return for easing of US sanctions

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attend a meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State of Russia and Belarus, in Moscow, Russia February 26, 2026.

Russia pumps up pressure on Belarus to open new front in Ukraine war, eyes anti-NATO ops. - WSJ


Belarus detains former presidential candidate

Andrei Dmitriev, 41, an activist who leads an anti-Lukashenko social movement was detained in the capital Minsk on Wednesday, according to a message posted on his Facebook page.

 Presidential candidate Andrey Dmitriev addresses the media in front of the parliament building in Minsk, Belarus August 4, 2020.

Belarus puts Nobel Prize-winning rights defender on trial

Byalyatski, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Russian rights group Memorial and Ukraine's Center for Civil Liberties in October, was arrested in 2021 along with two co-workers.

 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Byalyatski, who co-founded the Viasna human rights group, sits inside a defendants' cage during a court hearing in Minsk, Belarus January 5, 2023.

Belarus says Russia-deployed Iskander missile systems ready for use

The Iskander-M's two guided missiles have a range of up to 500 km (300 miles) and can carry conventional or nuclear warheads.

Russian servicemen equip an Iskander tactical missile system at the Army-2015 international military-technical forum in Kubinka, outside Moscow, Russia, June 17, 2015.

Ukraine-Russia War: Belarus closes off parts of border region

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Belarus on Monday, raising fears in Kyiv of increased coordination between the two allies amid the invasion of Ukraine.

 Service members of the 38th Brest Separate Guards Air Assault Brigade of the Belarusian armed forces drive vehicles during a snap inspection of troops' combat readiness at an unknown location in Belarus, in this handout picture released December 13, 2022.

Russian 'kamikaze' drones hit Kyiv as Putin heads for Belarus

The Ukrainian Air Force said its air defenses shot down 30 drones, the third Russian air attack on the Ukrainian capital in six days.

 Firefighters work at a site of a critical power infrastructure object, which was hit during Russia's drones attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine, in this handout picture released December 19, 2022.

Less than 10% of Russian, Ukrainian olim find jobs in their fields - public lobby data

72% of immigrants have not yet started studying Hebrew in an intensive program, also called an ulpan, while 30% gave up ulpan studies because they could not afford it.

 SOVIET OLIM celebrate the 25th anniversary of the 1990 great wave of aliyah, at the Jerusalem Convention Center, 2015.

Russia wants Ukraine to be 'dependent dictatorship' - Nobel Peace Prize winner

Byalyatski's wife accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in his name and in the name of all "prisoners of conscience in Belarus."

 Natalia Pinchuk, wife of Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Byalyatski from Belarus, addresses the news conference at the Nobel Institute, as Bialiatski, Memorial and CCL receive the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize for their work for human rights in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, in Oslo, Norway December 9, 2022.

Russian troops take part in tactical drills in Belarus

Belarus has said it will not enter the war in Ukraine, but President Alexander Lukashenko has in the past ordered troops to deploy with Russian forces near the Ukrainian border.

 Russian reservists recruited during the partial mobilisation of troops attend a ceremony before departing to the zone of Russia-Ukraine conflict, in the Rostov region, Russia October 31, 2022.

Belarus seeking Iran's help manufacturing artillery shells - Ukraine

Belarus is also reportedly seeking Iran's assistance with transitioning to a closed ammunition production cycle.

 A self-propelled howitzer 2S1 Gvozdika of pro-Russian troops fires a leaflet shell in the direction of Sievierodonetsk to disperse information materials from their combat positions in the Luhansk region, Ukraine May 24, 2022.

Ukraine builds wall on border with Belarus - presidential adviser

As Ukraine entered the strategic city of Kherson, an adviser to President Zelensky says that Ukraine intends to build a reinforced concrete wall and other fortifications on its border with Belarus.

 A view of a vehicle next to a fence built by Polish soldiers on the border between Poland and Belarus near the village of Nomiki, Poland August 26, 2021.