Putin Ally Issues Ominous Warning on Nukes: 'No Red Lines'

One of Russian President Vladimir Putin's top allies has said that there are "no red lines" on the use of nuclear weapons in a recent interview.

Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenko, a longtime ally of the Russian leader, said in an interview with a Russian TV channel that "Belarus will use nuclear weapons if the enemy crosses the border of the Union state. There will be no red lines, the answer will be instant."

The interview, hosted by Rossiya TV channel, saw Lukashenko questioned on the security of "the Union State" between Russia and Belarus, and the context of the war in Ukraine, which has seen increasing pressure put on Russia in recent days due to the progress of the Kursk offensive.

This is not the first time that Lukashenko has made a threat of this kind. He previously claimed that he had "no red lines" in July this year, amid growing tensions along Ukraine's northern border with Belarus.

Speaking then, he said: "I guarantee that we will not allow any clashes on the border with Ukraine. There will be none, we do not need them. But Ukraine does not need them even more in connection with the events that are unfolding on their battlefield".

However, Lukashenko also made repeated calls in Thursday's interview for an end to fighting in the interview, saying that only "high-ranking people of American origin" wanted the war in Ukraine to continue.

"Let's sit down at the negotiating table and end this brawl. Neither the Ukrainian people, nor the Russians, nor the Belarusians need it. They [the West] need it."

Putin has previously said that any peace negotiations with Ukraine would require the country to give up any attempt to join the NATO alliance.

Tensions in Eastern Europe have heightened even further following the continued progress of the Ukrainian Kursk offensive, which saw Kyiv forces make several advances into the northeastern Russian region.

Trackers of their progress indicated that Ukrainian forces have seized Viktorovka and Vnezapnoe, in the west of Kursk region, as well as advances further north near Zhuravli. Further east, there were reported seizures of Mirnyi and Sudzha, though Russia has not yet confirmed any of these reports.

Newsweek contacted the Russian Ministry of Defense for more information.

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