Belarus said it will deploy “a whole contingent” of its army along Ukraine’s borders during joint military exercises with Russia that are scheduled for Feb. 10-20. Dictator President Alexander Lukashenko’s announcement on Monday will reinforce concerns that Belarus may join Russia’s impending invasion of Ukraine.

Yet as war approaches, the Biden administration remains reticent to address robustly the growing security challenge to U.S. citizens and interests in Kyiv. Evincing as much, the State Department said on Sunday that in the event of a Russian invasion, “the U.S. government will not be in a position to evacuate U.S. citizens. So U.S. citizens, currently present in Ukraine should plan accordingly.”