Vladimir Putin will equip warplanes in Belarus with nuclear missile capability in his latest escalation of the war in Ukraine.
The bold proposal comes as the Russian President hopes to respond to a string of military setbacks and a chaotic mobilisation programme with new 'defensive' measures aimed at projecting strength against the West.
Belarus has moved closer into the war effort over recent days after President Alexander Lukashenko, a close Putin ally, suggested without evidence that Ukraine had been planning military strikes against his nation.
And on Saturday, the Russian Ministry of Defence claimed Belarusian Su-25 planes would soon be equipped with nuclear-capable missiles - although said this had not yet taken place.
If delivered it would mark a major step for Belarus's air force and military, which is small by the standards of most nuclear powers.
Belarus's defence ministry meanwhile confirmed on Sunday that around 9,000 Russian troops would be stationed in Belarus as part of a "regional grouping" of forces.
Valeriy Revenko, head of the defence ministry's international military cooperation department, wrote on Twitter : "The first troop trains with Russian servicemen who are part of the (regional grouping) began to arrive in Belarus.
"The relocation will take several days. The total number will be a little less than 9,000 people."
Lukashenko earlier confirmed he would be deploying troops from his own country to deploy with Russian forces near Ukraine in response to what he said was a clear threat to Belarus from Kyiv and Western backers.
It raises the prospect of a joint Russian-Belarus offensive in the north of Ukraine, with some in the country now fearing the imposition of a Russian-style draft of fighting-age men.
The autocrat leader suggested Belarusian involvement was justified due to supposed threats from the Ukrainian military, saying: "Strikes on the territory of Belarus are not just being discussed in Ukraine today, but are also being planned.
"Their owners are pushing them to start a war against Belarus to drag us there."
He added that Belarus had "been preparing for this for decades" and "if necessary, we will respond".
Belarus's army contains approximately 60,000 people and earlier this year, Belarus deployed six battalion-tactical groups, totalling several thousand people, to the border areas.
