Putin Seeks Distance From Belarus Turmoil and Says Russia Is ‘Neutral’

The statement followed broadcast of a video on Belarusian state TV of the activist Roman Protasevich confessing to organizing illegal rallies. His family says the comments were coerced.

Belarus Is Isolated as Other Countries Move to Ban Flights

The extraordinary forced landing of a commercial flight with a Belarusian dissident aboard escalated into one of the biggest flare-ups in East-West tensions in recent years.

Who Is Roman Protasevich, the Captive Journalist in Belarus?

Mr. Protasevich, 26, is an exiled dissident whose reach drew an authoritarian ruler into a gambit that outraged Western governments.