Putin awards Lukashenko Russia's highest honour for his 70th birthday

Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko the Order of St Andrew the Apostle the First-Called, the highest honour in Russia, for his 70th birthday, the Kremlin announced on Friday.
Lukashenko is receiving the Order of St Andrew for his role in strengthening the strategic partnership between Russia and Belarus, the statement said.
Lukashenko is a Russian ally in the ongoing war in Ukraine. He not only made parts of his territory available for Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 but Belarus' defence industry is also working at full capacity for the war.
For three decades, Lukashenko, who is called Europe's last dictator, has ruled Belarus with an iron fist and is the only one on the continent still enforcing the death penalty.
In June, he celebrated his 30th anniversary in power. He is economically dependent on Russia given the numerous sanctions imposed by Europe and the United States.
Putin praised Lukashenko as a "wise politician" who makes far-sighted decisions in difficult situations.
Belarusian critics living in exile accuse Lukashenko of severe human rights violations and the torture of political opponents in the country's penal camps.
Lukashenko recently released dozens of political prisoners and pardoned a German national who had been sentenced to death. He is expected to run for president again next year, although the country's elections are widely condemned as neither free nor fair.