Alexander Lukashenko – the iron grip starts to rust

     Alexander Lukashenko, leader of Belarus, and a staunch ally of Putin, appears to be unwell, sparking hopes of a retreat from further cooperation over Ukraine. He has offered Belarus as a base for the Russian military to pursue its strikes against Ukraine but Belarusian opposition say he would face “massive disobedience” if he decided to send troops to fight alongside Russian forces.  ‘The unexplained absences and public silence were highly out of c