Putin visits Belarus, raising fears of broadening war

Russian President Vladimir Putin travels to Belarus on Monday for his first visit in three years to the country, Russia's strongest ally in its invasion of Ukraine. Putin's trip comes after recent joint military exercises by Russia and Belarus. Belarus' leader, Alexander Lukashenko, has indicated he doesn't intend to send Belarusian troops into Ukraine, but Western military analysts say his signs of support for Putin could force Ukraine to beef up its defenses near Belarus as Russian forces try to counter recent gains by Ukrainian troops elsewhere in the country. "The risks are really high," said Yauheni Preiherman, director of the Minsk Dialogue Council on International Relations, a think tank based in the Belarusian capital.