Kirill Kudryavtsev/Pool via REUTERS
A Belarusian state news channel published a photograph of President Alexander Lukashenko Monday in an apparent attempt to assuage concerns about his health after a week-long absence from public events.
The photo, published by Pul Pervogo on Telegram, appears to show Lukashenko with a bandaged hand at a military command center. Other photos, shared by Belta, another state-owned new agency, appear to show him receiving a briefing on air defense.
Lukashenko was last seen in public last Tuesday at Victory Day events in Russia and in Belarus. The president, who has allowed Russia to use Belarusian territory as a launchpad for Russia’s war in Ukraine, reportedly skipped parts of the ceremony commemorating the Soviet Union’s wins in World War II in Moscow.