© Kenny Holston/The New York Times
© Nanna Heitmann for The New York Times
© Daniel Berehulak/The New York Times
Longtime president and Putin ally has silenced media and criminalised dissent as he eyes seventh term
On Sunday, five names will feature on the ballot in Belarus’s presidential election, but the outcome is a foregone conclusion: Alexander Lukashenko’s 31-year reign is poised to continue in the carefully managed vote, granting the dictator his seventh term in power.
The elections, described by the opposition as a “farce”, come four and a half years after Belarus’s previous presidential vote, which sparked nationwide protests over allegations of vote rigging and was met with brutal repression.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Gavriil Grigorov/Reuters
© Photograph: Gavriil Grigorov/Reuters
Russia is engaging in a 'shadow war' with Nato states, which is reportedly part of a deliberate strategy to undermine the alliance’s ability to support Ukraine. At the same time Russia's military industrial complex is producing arms at a formidable rate, and with Nato countries struggling to keep up in term of numbers, the arms race is having a big impact on the frontline. Josh Toussaint-Strauss finds out how Russia is using hybrid warfare alongside boosting its arms industry to outpace Nato, and what this all means for the war in Ukraine
West’s spy chiefs alarmed at recklessness of Russian counterparts
Russia to raise defence budget by 25% to highest level on record
‘A lot higher than we expected’: Russian arms production worries Europe’s war planners
© Photograph: the Guardian
© Photograph: the Guardian
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