Belarus leader Aleksandr Lukashenko has again warned of nuclear war and has deployed troops along the length of his country’s border with Ukraine.
He has regularly suggested that WW3 could be triggered if Ukraine’s western allies becoming even more embroiled in Ukraine’s battle against Russia.
Ukraine’s surprise assault into Kursk after crossing the Russian border has further raised the chances that the conflict could go nuclear, he said.
He said: "Ukraine will not be able to defeat Russia. Then who? The West. NATO. We must see this.
"If they send NATO troops [to Ukraine], this will start WW3."
The dictator, 69, said: "Both tactical and strategic nuclear weapons will be used, and the response will be instant and terrible.
"They [NATO] also understand this, and we understand it. Therefore, we need to sit down at the negotiating table."
He also controversial claimed without evidence that NATO wanted to push Russia into using nuclear weapons to further isolate Putin with the international community.
He added: “I know for a fact that in Ukraine they would be very happy if Russia used, or we would use, tactical nuclear weapons.
“Then we would probably have hardly any allies left."
Lukashenko also said it was NATO's "dream" to attack Belarus from Poland, adding “and in this case…it would be almost impossible to defend ourselves in such a situation.
“This [would mean] mobilisation and a real war…..”
Lukashenko, who has regularly warned of an escalation of the conflict after Russia invaded Ukraine in Febuary 2022, says he had deployed a third of his 60,000-strong armed forces to the border with Ukraine.
He told Russian state television a few days ago that it was America who want the war to continue.
Lukashenko said: “The Americans have one policy - to pit Europe against Russia. Let them fight. And then they will sort things out in the East with the Chinese.”
