At today's state awards ceremony, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko made a show of accusing the SBU and the CIA of attempting to drag him into a war with Ukraine, and then proceeded to insult Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Lukashenko's recent visit to China and his statement that the 'challenge is over' have raised questions about what he meant by this. Experts believe that Lukashenko was trying to gain support from China for the Belarusian economy, as well as to legitimize himself, as he has not had any meetings with world leaders for three years. He also attempted to create a picture of himself as a powerful leader, despite the fact that the power is actually in the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responded to Lukashenko's statements, calling them an attempt to create an artificial threat from Ukraine to justify its support for Russian aggression. In addition, intelligence reports suggest that Russia is withdrawing its forces from Belarus, which could indicate a failure of mobilization in Russia. Ukrainian military forces are continuing to monitor the situation and build up defensive positions on the border with Belarus.