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Ukraine war: What role is Belarus playing?

Pavel Latushka, a Belarusian politician and diplomat says he is concerned about his country's involvement in the war in Ukraine.

Could Russia be about to open a new front in its invasion of Ukraine, sending troops across the border from neighbouring Belarus?

Ukrainian officials have warned that a renewed assault on Ukraine coming from Belarus is highly likely, prompting fears the two countries could be planning a joint incursion across Ukraine's northern border.

Belarus is already heavily involved in the Ukraine war.

In February, Russian tanks crossed its southern border towards Kyiv and Russia regularly launches missiles from Belarusian territory. The EU is currently preparing another punishment package of sanctions in response.

There are concerns that there is a growing build-up of Russian soldiers in Belarus, along with tanks and other military hardware, and that the soldiers could enter Ukraine through the Belarusian and Ukrainian border, posing a huge threat.

Pavel Latushka, a former ambassador of Belarus, currently a member of the opposition in exile, spoke to Newsday's Krisztina Satori. He called President Alexander Lukashenko "a puppet of Putin. From the point of view of international law, he is a co-aggressor. A mobilisation is a show of loyalty to the Russian ruler."

(Belarusian opposition Pavel Latushko seen with Belarusian flag in background. Photo by Maciej Luczniewski / NurPhoto via Getty Images)

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