Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko, who is widely viewed in the West as the country's dictator, has expressed concerns to Russian President Vladimir Putin about moves to dismember Ukraine, Reuters reported on Monday. 

Putin on Monday said that Russia will introduce the rouble as the primary currency to be used in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian region of Kherson. Analysts will view this as a step towards the annexation of the captured region into the Russian Federation, which Western analysts think will be finalised in a "sham" referendum.