Putin ally Belarus warns it has "every reason" to attack NATO country

A leading government official in Belarus, a major ally to Russia and its President Vladimir Putin, said recently that the country would have "every reason" to launch an attack against Lithuania, its neighbor to the northwest and a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

A former Soviet Union republic, Belarus has remained a staunch ally of Russia throughout the decades, holding membership in its NATO-alternative intergovernmental military alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), and offering extensive aid during Moscow's prolonged invasion of Ukraine. While Belarusian troops have not been deployed into the war-torn country, Belarus has allowed Russian forces to make use of its land for strategic purposes.