Ukraine news latest — Putin faces ‘equipment and manpower’ shortage as Belarus ready to ‘wage war alongside Russia’

RUSSIA is facing a “significant” loss of both equipment and manpower as its brutal invasion of Ukraine rages on, a US think tank has claimed. The Institute for the Study of War took to Twitter to highlight Putin’s army is “depleted” as it looks to launch a new offensive in Ukraine. The think tank said: “Russia’s costly military campaign in Ukraine has likely significantly depleted Russian equipment and manpower reserves necessary to sustain a successful large-scale offensive in eastern Ukraine.” This comes as Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian president, said he is ready to order his troops to fight alongside Russia. Speaking to a group of media, Lukashenko said: “I’m ready to wage war, alongside the Russians, from the territory of Belarus. But only if someone – even a single soldier – enters our territory from there (Ukraine) with weapons to kill my people.” Read our Ukraine war blog below for the latest news…