Belarusian dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko has warned that "raising the temperature of hostility” between the West and former Soviet states Russia and Belarus could end in a “nuclear apocalypse”.
Putin’s pal made the spine chilling call as he blamed Ukraine ’s Western allies for prolonging the war in Ukraine and moved his troops closer to the Poland Belarus border, following a NATO build up in the democratic state.
The despot deployed “a couple of battalions” troops from Vitebsk so they can stand “head to head with NATO”.
READ MORE: Putin made world 'safer' with Ukraine invasion as Brit defence chief makes 'WW3' claim
Click for more of the latest news from across the world from the Daily Star.
He said: “These battalions are at full operational readiness, with a readiness of three hours from leaving their place of deployment.”
Lukashenko claimed NATO was “raising the temperature of hostility”, towards the Eastern European dictatorships, by building more military infrastructure and expanding into Sweden and Finland, reports The Sun.
The 69-year-old tyrant then threatened that tensions could escalate into nuclear warfare, and said: “Any incautious word or movement could cause an open armed conflict, right up to the use of nuclear weapons.”
He further threatened that if western support for Ukraine threatens to spill into Russia, the former USSR will hit back hard and “that will be an apocalypse”.
He said: “If the situation becomes threatening for the internal situation in Russia, Russia will use the entire arsenal which it has. And that will be apocalypse.”
The politician's threat comes as he lashed out at the United States after Washington’s pledge of $61 billion in military aid to Kyiv blaming the nation for turning Ukraine into a “drug addict”.
Lukashenko said: “They have also converted Ukraine into a drug addict, who is kept on a short leash with promises of a new dose of additional weapons, including long-range weapons and financial infusions.”
He also slammed Ukraine’s US supplied longer-range weapons as “extremely dangerous”.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.
