WW3 fears erupt as Putin moves nuclear missiles to EU border

 Vladimir Putin is using his key puppet country, Belarus, to help escalate Russia's war in Ukraine and is moving nuclear missiles to the border of the European Union, Belarus' exiled opposition leader has warned. In an urgent plea to Europe, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said the continent must pay "more attention to what is happening".

Ms Tsikhanouskaya - who describes herself as president-elect after claiming victory in Belarus' 2020 election, but fled after claiming the outcome was rigged - said Belarus' president, Alexander Lukashenko, was facilitating Russia's aggression in Ukraine by allowing the Russian leader to intensify Russia's military presence in the country. "We see how on Belarusian territory, Mr Lukashenko's regime intensifies the presence of Russia. They are about to deploy nuclear weapons [to Belarus], Russian missiles," she said from the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference this week.

She added that Belarus was also a significant contributor to the Russian military-industrial complex, estimating that "about 300 Belarusian enterprises" aided Moscow's production efforts, including the construction of new drone facilities.

"So it looks like they're preparing for escalation," Ms Tsikhanouskaya said, according to The Telegraph.

She then urged Europe to pay closer attention to what is happening in Belarus, stating that Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky was aware of the risk "because this escalation might affect not only Ukraine but also European countries".

This comes just months after Russia's ministry of defence released footage reportedly showing its military deploying a nuclear-capable missile system at an airbase in eastern Belarus. This was interpreted by Western analysts as a show of power to intimidate Ukraine and its neighbours. Mr Lukashenko also said 10 Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile systems would be stationed in the country, which would significantly reduce the time it would take for the Kremlin to strike EU territory.

Ms Tsikhanouskaya was forced to flee Belarus with her two children in the wake of her claiming victory in the country's 2020 election. Meanwhile, her husband, who had initially stood to run against Mr Lukashenko, was detained in prison. He was freed last year as part of a US-backed prisoner release, and the family remains living in exile between Lithuania and Poland.

"If the democratic world will not help Ukrainians enough for them to win this war, it will embolden Putin and he will not stop where he is," she warned, citing Moldova, Armenia and Georgia. "All the borders will become negotiable."

Mr Lukashenko, 71, has been Belarus's first and only president since the office's establishment in 1994, making him the current longest-serving European leader. Ms Tsikhanouskaya described him as "serving Putin's interest" and continuing to "sell out" Belarus's independence to Russia.