Izium deaths and Belarus nuclear status: 4 March 2022 recalled
A look back at two developments reported in the days before 4 March 2022, in Ukraine and Belarus.
What were the reports that framed 4 March 2022, the ninth day of Russia's invasion? Two stood out: civilian deaths in Izium and a change in Belarus's nuclear status.
On 3 March 2022, the eighth day of the war, eight civilians were reported killed in Izium. The city's central hospital was said to have been badly damaged by a Russian missile strike.
A few days earlier, on 28 February 2022, Belarus confirmed that it had revoked its non-nuclear status. The change would allow the country to host and develop its own nuclear weapons. President Lukashenko said he could ask Russia to return nuclear missiles to Belarus if any nuclear weapons were transferred to Poland or Lithuania.
The change came from a constitutional referendum held on 27 February 2022, ordered by Lukashenko in January 2022. It took place several days after Russia began its offensive into Ukraine, and as Russian troops had been massed in both Russia and Belarus. The proposed amendments also included measures allowing Lukashenko to stay in office and empowering the All-Belarusian People's Assembly, a body made up mostly of state officials.
