Russia says ready to take all measures to protect Belarus

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday that Moscow is ready to take all necessary measures under its security treaty with Belarus in response to what it sees as threats from Ukraine.

Speaking in Moscow, Lavrov said Belarus was facing threats from Kyiv aimed at drawing Minsk into the conflict in Ukraine.

He referred to recent remarks by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said he was prepared to order strikes on military equipment if it was not removed within a week.

Lavrov said the equipment in question was stationed on Belarusian territory near the border with Ukraine.

"I would like to remind those in Kyiv who engage in this kind of rhetoric and threats, as well as those in the West who support them, that since March 2025 a treaty on security guarantees within the framework of the Union State has been in force between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus," Lavrov said.

"If necessary, we are ready to take the full range of measures provided for under the treaty to ensure the security of our ally," he added.