Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has spoken out on reports that North Korea is sending troops to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine. Lukashenko, a long-time ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, believes such involvement would escalate the conflict and lead to NATO's deployment in Ukraine. He also denied any requests from Putin for Belarusian troops to participate in the war. Meanwhile, human rights groups estimate 1,300 political prisoners are currently detained in Belarus, although Lukashenko had previously claimed there were none.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62938gl6q1o