Belarusian dictator announces joint force with Russia in response to ‘threat’ from UkraineBelarus is inching closer to a direct intervention in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as its dictatorial president announced that he is deploying a force formed jointly with Moscow.Alexander Lukashenko, who has held power since 1984 and is widely regarded as Russian president Vladimir Putin’s closest international ally, said he was acting because of what he claimed was clear evidence of planned attacks on Belarus by Ukraine.The move, which is likely to place a joint Belarusian and Russian force on Ukraine’s northern border, opens the possibility of a further escalation in Putin’s war by once more increasing the threat to Kyiv from its pro-Kremlin neighbour.But with an army of 60,000, much of it reliant on outmoded Soviet-era equipment and a combat-ready force that is just a fraction of that total, it is unlikely that Belarus could hand its Russian sponsor a decisive advantage in a fresh incursion onto Ukrainian territory.Hundreds of his compatriots have volunteered since February to join a unit aligned with Kyiv to counter the Russian invasion."