It used to be that truth was sometimes stranger than fiction, but in the last few years it’s felt like this is the case all the time. Enter Pusha T and Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence. 

For a rapper fond of a big collaboration or two, this is his most unexpected yet. It all started when the country’s Ministry of Defence’s official Twitter account made a post highlighting the total number of combat losses Russia has had since the beginning of Vladimir Putin’s invasion in February; it honestly looked like a Call of Duty leaderboard.

“I put numbers on the boards,” the tweet was captioned, a reference to Pusha T’s 2013 track ‘Numbers on the Boards’. The rapper was tagged in the post for extra measure. And Pusha T really appreciated the shout-out: “Great taste in music for the win,” he replied. Hopefully Putin isn’t a big Pusha T fan.

Or perhaps Putin will now add Pusha T to a growing list of U.S. citizens now banned from entering his country. Hollywood actors Ben Stiller and Sean Penn fell foul of the grumpy Russian leader earlier this week thanks to their public support for Ukraine, which means Zoolander 3 won’t be shooting in Moscow anytime soon. The list of banned citizens reportedly totals 25, including prominent U.S. Senators like Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly

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What hip hop and military crossover should we expect next? DJ Khaled calling North Korea’s Ministry of Defence special? Rick Ross deciding to throw caution to the wind and back Russia? Again, truth is stranger than fiction more often than not these days.

Away from budding political alliances, Pusha T released his fourth studio album, It’s Almost Dry, in April. It was a critical and commercial success around the world, reaching number 11 on the ARIA Albums Chart and number one on the U.S. Billboard 200.

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