In brief

• Putin and Lukashenko met on 10 November at Putin's Novo-Ogaryovo residence, the day before a CSTO summit.
• The talks covered the war in Ukraine, humanitarian exchanges and Belarus's arms.
• Lukashenko said Belarus had mastered the weapons Russia promised, and Putin invited him to dinner.

Meeting at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence

The two leaders met on the evening of 10 November at Putin's residence in Novo-Ogaryovo, outside Moscow. The meeting took place on the eve of a Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit, where Lukashenko was scheduled to take part in Moscow the following day (Лукашенко и Путин на личной встрече подняли тему войны в Украине – Salidarnasć) (Восьма зустріч за рік: Путін переговорив з Лукашенком у Ново-Огарьово — що відомо – TSN) (Путин и Лукашенко встретились в Ново-Огарево – Charter 97). Lukashenko arrived in Russia the same day (Лукашенко и Путин начали встречу в Ново-Огарево – Reform.news).

Ukraine and humanitarian exchanges

Speaking to reporters at the start of the meeting, Putin thanked Lukashenko for helping organize humanitarian exchanges linked to Russia's war against Ukraine. Putin also said he keeps in regular contact with Lukashenko.

Arms and security

Lukashenko said Belarus had mastered all the weapons Russia had promised under security arrangements, and that the Belarusian army is studying lessons from the fighting in Ukraine («Весь мир видит опыт конфликта в Украине». Лукашенко поблагодарил Путина за помощь беларусской армии современными видами вооружений – Zerkalo) (Лукашенко поблагодарил Путина за вооружение и российские войска на западном направлении – Reform.news). He said Belarus had formed combat units ranging from a people's militia to the regular armed forces and carries out regular inspections. He thanked Russia for help with modern weapons the Belarusian army is receiving.

Lukashenko also told Putin that Russian forces deployed on the western front, which Russia is not sending into Ukraine, were combat-ready and would defend Belarus.

Dinner invitation and meeting frequency

At the end of the informal talks, Putin invited Lukashenko to dinner at his home. The meeting was reported by Ukrainian media as the sixth personal meeting between the two leaders in 2026 and the eighth in the past 12 months, though this count has not been independently confirmed. Opposition outlet Charter 97 gave the same count for 2026.

Context

Ukraine's foreign intelligence service said Belarus plans to direct almost a fifth of its budget spending to defense, law enforcement and security. The summit is expected to approve several multilateral documents, among them a final declaration and a counterterrorism plan running to 2030.