Officials say that Russia and Belarus will hold a joint military exercise in September, part of efforts by the two neighbors and allies to expand military ties amid the fighting in Ukraine

In the United Nations, the United States sided with Russia, Belarus and North Korea — three authoritarian regimes currently rampaging through parts of Ukraine — against a General Assembly resolution that noted Russia as the aggressor in the Ukrainian invasion.

Belarusian President and presidential candidate Alexander Lukashenko visits a polling station during the presidential election in Minsk, Belarus January 26, 2025. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/ File Photo (Reuters) - Belarusian leader and Russian ally Alexander Lukashenko said in remarks published on Wednesday that Moscow and Minsk benefit from how the United States treats Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and the rift between Washington and the EU.

After Russia’s full-scale invasion began, Belarus overtook Ukraine as the EU’s biggest rapeseed oil supplier. But RFE/RL and other media have found that one of Belarus’ biggest exporters of the product sourced rapeseed from Russia-occupied Ukraine before selling the finished goods to Europe.

When it comes to the war in Ukraine, President Trump finds common cause with the world’s outlier states and stands against traditional U.S. allies like Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Japan and Italy.

The United States voted against a Ukrainian-drafted United Nations resolution condemning Russian aggression in Ukraine.

Israel and the United States were among a slim minority of countries that voted against a United Nations resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Also voting “no” were Russia, Belarus, North Korea,

The US joined Russian allies Belarus, Hungary and Nicaragua in voting against a condemnation of the 2022 invasion.

The Trump administration is facing widespread criticism for aligning with authoritarian regimes—including Russia, North Korea, Belarus, and Hungary—by opposing a United Nations resolution condemning Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Sergiy, 36, stands with his nephews Zhasmin (10 ,at left) and Lev (13) after Ukrainian children crossed the border from Belarus to Ukraine, in the Volyn region, on Feb. 20, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Our government is voting with the likes of Russia, North Korea and Belarus at the U.N. on the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.