Alexander Lukashenko, the allegedly-ill president of Belorusia, offered nuclear weapons to nations that join it and Russia in an alliance against Ukraine, where Moscow's forces are bogged down and expect to face an imminent counterattack from the defenders.
It was not clear how wide Lukashenko's invitation to join the Union State extended, and he offered no other specifics.
But his comments on handing out nuclear weapons to like-minded allies are likely to heighten concerns at a time of growing global proliferation and as Moscow threatens the world with its own atomic arsenal as its war against Ukraine falters.
On Thursday the Belarusian autocrat said the transfer of some tactical nuclear weapons from Russia to Belarus had begun, following an agreement signed by Moscow and Minsk.
Having a puppet flood the world with danger is très Putin. Ukraine has seen every kind of modern conflict: skirmishing, trench warfare, state terror, blitzkrieg, defense-in-depth, missile volleys, drone strikes, and now speedrunning the proliferation phase of the Cold War.