Our newsroom quotes Russian news agencies as saying the president of Belarus, a traditional Russian ally who has been hosting multilateral talks on the Ukraine conflict, will join Western leaders in boycotting an upcoming military parade in Moscow:
Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka says he will travel to Moscow to participate in events marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe on May 7 and 8, but he will not attend a Victory Day military parade in the Russian capital on May 9.
In an interview with Russia's ITAR-TASS on April 18, Lukashenka said he will preside over a Victory Day parade in Minsk on May 9 instead.
Belarus has traditionally been one of Russia's closest allies, but Lukashenka has been critical of Moscow's policies regarding Ukraine.
The Belarusian president, however, criticized politicians who have refused to travel to Moscow because of the conflict in Ukraine, saying that it is "an incorrect move" against "the Soviet people and the people of Eastern Europe, who we at that time liberated."
Representatives of about 25 countries -- including India, China, Serbia, and North Korea -- have confirmed that they will attend the May 9 parade in Moscow.
Based on reporting by ITAR-TASS and Sputnik News
More from the Zakharchenko interview:
Zakharchenko insisted it must be legally recognised as an independent territory.
He said: "Ukraine has stopped paying welfare, pensions and other payments that are obligatory for a state to pay its citizens.
"They don't do it, so they've de facto recognised us."
"Ukraine doesn't want to resolve all the issues," he said.
"If you agree to resolve something, then you need to act and move forward, and resolve everything that's included.
"If that doesn't happen, then the Minsk Agreement is unfulfilled, and it renders all the meetings in Minsk pointless," he added.
He also accused Kiev of preparing for war - a charge it denies.
"According to the information we've received, Kiev could once again provoke the conflict very soon, attacking Donetsk or any another town of the Donetsk People's Republic."