Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko today warned a nuclear third world war 'looms on the horizon' due to NATO's support for Kyiv as he insisted Russia will use nukes if they fear defeat in Ukraine.

The dictator, a staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, claimed - without providing any evidence - that the West is planning to invade Belarus to 'destroy it'.

Lukashenko said the West's decision to send tanks, missiles and artillery to Ukraine has meant the world is closer than ever to a nuclear apocalypse.

'As a result of the efforts of the United States and its satellites, a full-scale war has been unleashed in Ukraine,' a livid Lukashenko said in a televised address. 'A third world war with nuclear fires looms on the horizon.'

Lukashenko, who allowed Putin to use his country as a launching pad for his full-scale invasion of Ukraine a year ago, insisted that Russia's plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus is not blackmail but a chance to 'safeguard' his nation against Western threats.

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