Alexander Lukashenko

The mercenary leader who led a short-lived mutiny against the Kremlin is in Russia and his troops are in their field camps, the president of Belarus said Thursday, raising new questions about the deal that ended the extraordinary challenge to President Vladimir Putin's rule.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday ordered security to be beefed up at his country's border with Belarus, where fighters from the Russian paramilitary group Wagner have been offered exile.

Day 490 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

Day 489 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

Day 487 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was notorious for unbridled and profane challenges to authority even before the attempted rebellion that he mounted Saturday. The reported agreement for him to go into exile in Belarus would place him in a country where such behavior is even less acceptable than in his homeland.

Day 481 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

President Vladimir Putin on Friday confirmed Russia had sent nuclear arms to its ally Belarus which borders Ukraine.

"The first nuclear warheads were delivered to the territory of Belarus... This is the first part," Putin told an annual economic forum, where AFP and media of other countries Russia deems "unfriendly" were not accredited.

This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko.

Belarus and Russia have no plans to adopt a joint currency in the near future, Belarus' strongman leader has announced.

Speaking at a meeting with the head of Russia's central bank, Alexander Lukashenko said that introducing the Russian ruble in Belarus would not be "an easy process," and that the authorities in Minsk had no intentions so far of doing so.