A year after his controversial reelection threw Belarus into chaos, President Alexander Lukashenko repeated claims that his opponents are working with the West to force him from power.

Belarusian state news showed President Alexander Lukashenko in fatigues inspecting joint military exercises with Russia. The arms deal with Moscow could include the state-of-the-art S-400 missile system.

Members of the European Parliament meeting in Strasbourg are poised to demand international prosecution against the disputed president of Belarus for repression.

Lithuania's foreign minister has defended his country's newly-imposed state of emergency on and around its border with Belarus, amid an increasing number of irregular migrants trying to cross – and has accused the Belarusian president of orchestrating "instrumentalised migration" and participating in "trafficking". Gabrielius Landsbergis told FRANCE 24's Catherine Nicholson that Lithuanian border officials need "more legal instruments to really secure the border", which runs for approximately 700 kilometres.

In a phone call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Belarus' president reportedly said his country is ready to negotiate with the EU on solving the crisis at the Polish border.

The Belarusian strongman has encouraged migrants to continue their journey into the European Union. "We will not try to catch you, beat you, and hold you behind barbed wire," he said.

Belarusian activist calls on EU leaders to investigate Lukashenko

A new constitutional amendment will allow Russian troops and nuclear weapons to station permanently in Belarus. The amendment also gives leader Alexander Lukashenko immunity from prosecution.

According to reports, Alexander Lukashenko is preparing to instruct Belarusian forces to play a more active role in Russia's war in Ukraine. But the opposition leader doesn't think soldiers will "betray our motherland."

Ukrainian member of parliament Maria Mezentseva is part of a working group, created by President Volodymyr Zelensky, tasked with campaigning for a special international tribunal to prosecute the crime of "aggression" in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. She joins FRANCE 24 from Kharkiv, the Ukraine’s second largest city.

The president of Belarus arrived in Zimbabwe on Monday, hot on the heels of a tour of African countries by Sergei Lavrov, foreign minister of main ally Russia.

Lukashenko will visit China from February 28 to March 2. China says it wants to work with Belarus to deepen mutual trust.