Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk, Belarus, on May 24, 2024. Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik/pool via ReutersRussia, on June 25, denied putting pressure on its ally Belarus to support an expansion of the war in Ukraine.The denial came in response to a June 24 report by The Wall Street Journal claiming that Moscow wanted to use its neighbor as a springboard to step up attacks on Kyiv, and that the Kremlin was threatening to cut financial support to Minsk if it did not agree.
