PUTIN BLOW
Now longtime Putin ally Alexander Lukashenko urges Russian leader to end war with Ukraine in latest humiliation
Watch footage of Ukraine's latest impressive surge inside Russia - as they capture the strategic town of Sudzha
A LONGTIME ally of Vladimir Putin's has urged him to bring an end to the Ukraine war in another embarrassing blow to the tyrant.
Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko appeared to turn on his years of support for Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine as Kyiv's forces push on with their successful incursion in Kursk.
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He shared fears for the first time that the bloody conflict could spill over into his country and swore that neither he nor Putin want a wider war with Nato.
Speaking to Russian state television, Lukashenko said "high-ranking people of American origin" want the war to continue so Ukraine and Russia "destroy each other".
But he pleaded with Mad Vlad: "Let's sit down at the negotiating table and end this brawl."
Part of Putin's 2022 invasion of Ukraine was launched from Belarus, with Lukashenko long regurgitating Moscow's anti-west war propaganda.
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He has previously called on Kyiv to surrender for a ceasefire, saying Russia would be forced to use "the most terrible weapon" if it felt threatened.
The ageing tyrant even warned he could unleash nukes with pal Putin, saying "If necessary, Putin and I will decide and bring in strategic weapons."
In his recent interview, filmed last weekend after the Kursk invasion was launched, Lukashenko instead said: "Neither the Ukrainian people, nor the Russians, nor the Belarusians need it. They (the West) need it."
Ukrainian forces claim to have penetrated more than 20 miles inside Russia and appear to be steadily gaining ground as Russian troops surrender.
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They first launched the surprise ambush last Tuesday, and have shocked the world with the impressive gains made since.
On Thursday, the largest Russian town to be taken since World War Two, Sudzha, was captured by Zelensky's troops.
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Incredible footage showed Ukrainian soldiers hoisting their flags in Russian towns in Kursk and nearby Belgorod as they celebrate their gains.
Lukashenko claimed, with no evidence, that Ukraine's forces are set to attack Belarus next.
He raged that capital Minsk would not allow Kyiv's troops to "trample on our country".
"We don't want escalation and we don't want a war against the whole of NATO. We don't want that," he said.
But in a snarling warning, more in line with his years of threats against the West, he said, "we'll have no other choice".
Authorities say more than 120,000 Kursk citizens have fled amid the shock incursion by Zelensky's men in the borderland region.
A state of emergency was also declared in Belgorod.
Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote in a Telegram message on Monday: "The entire territory of the Belgorod region is a MISSILE DANGER.
"Go down to the basement. Stay there until you receive the signal 'all clear missile danger.'"
Ukraine's chief commander Oleksandr Syrsky says his troops have taken 1000 square kilometres (386 square miles) of Russian turf, a claim refuted by Moscow.
Zelensky said on Tuesday night his soldiers controlled 74 settlements, with the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) finding the figure was at least 41.
Vlad and his cronies have continued to insist Ukraine's invasion is reckless and its troops will soon be wiped out.
But pictures and footage from the lightning surge shape as embarrassing for the tyrant, who is accused of running an operation sending untrained conscripts to their slaughter.
Footage even appeared to show a British Challenge 2 tank in Russia for the first time as the incursion spurs on.
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Video on Thursday showed more than 100 Kremlin fighters deciding to give up amid claims they were completely abandoned by commanders.
According to former Ukrainian adviser Anton Gerashchenko, a total of 102 troops waved the white flag - the biggest mass surrender of the war since Putin launched a full-scale invasion in 2022.
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