Despite the size of Putin's military, Moscow has struggled to maintain well-trained and motivated forces, allowing Ukraine, bolstered by Western support, to take back thousands of square miles of formerly occupied territory during the fall.His government enjoys close ties to the Kremlin, and he even allowed Russian troops to enter Ukraine from Belarus' border—giving them closer access to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.His meeting with Putin was met with condemnation from Tsikhanouskaya, the leader of Belarus' pro-democratic opposition who is living in exile, as freedom of dissent is limited in the authoritarian state.However, she said many Belarusians are unlikely to respond to the Putin-Lukashenko meeting with support, pointing to deep societal connections between many Belarusians and Ukrainians that would make it difficult for Lukashenko to formally join Putin's invasion.Ohanyan said Belarus could be increasing military exercises to draw Ukrainian troops to the north, leaving the military in a more vulnerable position in southeastern Ukraine, such as the Donbas region, where the bulk of battlefield has taken place in recent months—though she doubted Russia would be successful in doing so."