An internal Kremlin document from the fall of 2021 details part of Russia’s strategy to annex Belarus by 2030. The document, obtained and released by Yahoo News, details a plan including benchmarks to fully annex the neighboring country through political, economic, and military tactics. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko is a staunch Putin ally and allowed Russian troops to stage in Belarus before the invasion of Ukraine last year. However, despite Lukashenko’s support of Putin, Belarus has thus far stayed directly out of the war with Ukraine. Lukashenko said that only if Ukrainian soldiers violate Belarussian territory would Belarus join the war.
