Belarus starts performing military drills

Along Ukraine’s northern border, officials in Belarus said Tuesday its soldiers and tactical vehicles began military drills that will run through July 14. The drills are supposed to test the troops’ combat readiness and their communications capabilities. Retired Army Gen. Jack Keane said on Fox News that Belarus forces are more poorly trained than Russia’s, and would have severe morale problems with attacking Ukraine. Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko is the only European leader to back Russia’s invasion  and the Russian military has been allowed to launch missiles into Ukraine from inside Belarus’ border for three weeks. 

How are Russia’s relations with other countries? Next week, Russian President Vladimir Putin and leaders from Iran and Turkey will meet in Tehran for talks on Syria. On Monday, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan accused Iran of preparing to supply weapons to Russia and train its troops. Iran has not responded to the statement, but said Iran and Russia have a history of cooperation in some “sophisticated technologies.” 

Dig deeper: Read WORLD’s latest coverage of the war in Ukraine.