28 May 2023 , 12:46
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Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko has been taken to hospital in Moscow and now is in critical condition after meeting Vladimir Putin, it has been reported.
The news was reported on Twitter by Lukashenko's opponent Valery Tsepkalo, the former candidate for the presidency of the country and former ambassador to the United States.
"According to the information we have, which needs additional confirmation, Lukashenko, after meeting with Putin behind closed doors, was urgently taken to the Central Clinical Hospital of Moscow, where he is now located", Tsepkalo wrote.
He said the best specialists were sent to assess his condition and he could be transported due to the severity of it.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin embrace (AP)He continued: "He added: "Currently, he remains under medical care there. Leading specialists have been mobilised to address his critical condition. Blood purification procedures have been conducted, and Lukashenko's condition has been deemed non-transportable.
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"The orchestrated efforts to save the Belarusian dictator aimed to dispel speculations regarding Kremlin's alleged involvement in his poisoning."
This is not the first time he has appeared unwell amid speculation of his ailments since his lack of appearance at Victory Day celebrations in Moscow's Red Square on May 9.
However, the 68-year-old tried to quash any rumours this week, saying: "I'm not going to die, guys."
It comes as Lukashenko confirmed earlier this week that Russia had begun moving tactical nuclear warheads for storage to Belarus.
This marked the first deployment of such weapons outside its borders since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said the weapons were already on the move.
When the weapons would be deployed wasn’t announced, but Putin has said the construction of storage facilities in Belarus for them would be completed by July.
The U.S. government believes Russia has about 2,000 tactical nuclear weapons, which include bombs that can be carried by aircraft, warheads for short-range missiles and artillery rounds.
"Deployment of nonstrategic nuclear weapons is an effective response to the aggressive policy of countries unfriendly to us", Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said in Minsk at a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu.
"In the context of an extremely sharp escalation of threats on the western borders of Russia and Belarus, a decision was made to take countermeasures in the military-nuclear sphere", Shoigu added.
Russia and Belarus have an alliance agreement under which the Kremlin subsidizes the Belarusian economy, via loans and discounted Russian oil and gas. Russia used Belarusian territory as a staging ground for invading neighbouring Ukraine and has maintained a contingent of troops and weapons there.
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