Belarus-Uzbekistan Summit: Lukashenka and Uzbekistan’s Mirziyoyev signed a Declaration on Strategic Partnership in Minsk, aiming to double trade to $2bn and expand cooperation across industry, agriculture, pharma, energy and transport, with Lukashenka again pitching Uzbekistan workers to Belarus. EU Sanctions Politics: Bulgaria approved its stance on the EU’s 21st sanctions package against Russia and Belarus, backing pressure for talks while keeping objections, including to adding Patriarch Kirill. Regional Security Tech: Lithuania tripled funding for tech to detect and stop Belarus-linked cigarette-smuggling weather balloons, moving from €1mn to €3mn for prototypes and a pilot batch. Sports Diplomacy Fallout: The IOC’s move to provisionally ease Russia/Belarus restrictions drew pushback, with Canada objecting and the IBU keeping its ban on Russian athletes despite IOC recommendations. Ukraine War Spillover: Zelensky said China warned Putin not to use nuclear weapons; meanwhile, drone strikes are reported to have hit Russia’s oil refining capacity hard, worsening fuel pressure that also feeds into Belarus-Russia energy dependence. Energy Pressure in the Region: Russia’s diesel export ban is highlighted as a crisis driver for neighbors like Armenia, underscoring how the war’s fuel disruptions ripple through the post-Soviet space.