VLADIMIR Putin has accepted an invitation to join Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko on a trip to Antarctica amid tensions with the West.
The tyrant agreed on the frosty escape after watching Russian polar explorers open a new wintering complex at the Vostok station during a video call with Europe's longest-serving president.
Lukashenko, 69, was reportedly so impressed by what he saw that he suggested for Putin, 71, to join him on the ice-covered landmass.
According to Belarusian outlet Zerkalo, Lukashenko said: "Let’s go some time? Looks interesting!", to which Putin replied: "Yes, okay."
Lukashenko then suggested that maybe someday the pair would "wave" from Antarctica themselves, with Putin smiling in agreement.
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The duo were bearing witness to the construction of the new wintering camp during a meeting held in Saint Petersburg on Sunday.
Dubbed Russia’s flagship project in the Antarctic region, it acts as an example of "successful public-private partnership", according to state news agency TASS.
On the other side of the video link being watched by Putin and Lukashenko were Minister of Natural Resources Alexander Kozlov and NOVATEK CEO Leonid Mikhelson.
They were also joined by General Director of Zapsibgazprom Yury Vodopyanov and Director of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute Alexander Makarov.
Russia also claims the Molodyozhnaya Station in Antarctica, which is operated on a seasonal basis.
Located nearby is the Belarusian scientific station Mount Vechernyaya, which opened in 2015.
But Putin and Lukashenko's meeting and getaway plans come amid rising tensions with the West.
At the same time as their get-together, Putin ramped up attacks against Kyiv after claiming Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky's regime "glorifies Hitler's accomplices, the SS."
His claims come just three days after Lukashenko's government launched an investigation into 20 independent analysts and political commentators now outside the country.
Accused of conspiring to seize power and promote extremism, following a series of searches and detentions of people, many of whom were once jailed for political dissent against Lukashenko.
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The Belarusian President, who's been in power since 1994, staged his new crackdown on dissent after stamping out unprecedented demonstrations against his "rigged" re-election in 2020.
At the time, he allegedly deployed an OnlyFans pornstar to spy for his KGB secret service on pro-democracy enemies.
Following the disputed election, Lukashenko was not recognised as the legitimate president of Belarus by the United Kingdom, the European Union, and the United States.
As a result, Lukashenko's dependence on Moscow for political and economic support has only increased.
Putin backed him in that re-election confrontation and to reward his loyalty, Lukashenko granted Russia use of its Belarusian territory as a staging post for their invasion of Ukraine.
He also agreed to deploy Russian tactical nuclear weapons in his country on Russia's western border last year.
Elsewhere, Ukraine has dismissed Russia’s claims that 65 prisoners of war were killed in a shot-down plane as propaganda.
Moscow has said the Ukrainian PoWs were among 74 who died when a missile hit the IL-76 in Belgorod region.
And Putin's top crony and security chief Dmitry Medvedev has issued a disturbing warning to the Western world.
He vowed that Russia would do everything in its power to ensure its enemies "disappear from the face of the earth forever".
