Russia’s closest ally, Belarus, has emerged as a potential new front in the Kremlin’s confrontation with the West, as Moscow seeks to strengthen its military union with the country and Ukraine threatens strikes on its territory, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Axar.az informs according to the WSJ, earlier this year, Moscow started a pressure campaign on Belarus in hopes of using it as a springboard to expand Russia’s war in Ukraine or to launch nonconventional operations against members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, said former and current Russian and European officials.

According to U.S. and European officials, the Kremlin is pursuing several strategic objectives. Belarusian territory could be used to sustain continuous drone attacks on Ukrainian targets, expand military pressure toward western Ukraine, and force Kyiv to redeploy reserves from critical sectors in the east.

Belarus could also be used for provocations against neighboring Alliance countries. Russia wants to undermine support for Ukraine and test NATO's response. Last summer, Russian drones already entered Polish airspace. Now such operations could become systematic, the media outlet notes.