IRIA News

Russian President Vladimir Putin has unveiled plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in the neighboring ally country of Belarus. Moscow’s latest announcement is being perceived as another nuclear threat by the NATO allies.

During an interview with a Russian state-owned media outlet, Putin said that Russia would complete the construction of a nuclear tactical weapons storage facility in Belarus by July this year. After the construction, Moscow would start transferring nuclear weapons to Belarus.

The Russian president said that Belarus has already been provided with Russian-made Iskander short-range missile systems that are capable to carry conventional and nuclear warheads.

Putin compared Russia’s deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus to the U.S.’s deployment of similar weapons in Europe, stating that the move does not violate its nuclear non-proliferation obligations. He also highlighted that Russia has helped Belarus upgrade 10 aircraft capable of carrying tactical nuclear warheads. The Russian air force would start training pilots to fly the re-configured planes early next month. 

“There is nothing unusual here, first of all, the US has been doing this for decades,” Putin said during the interview. “They placed their tactical nuclear weapons in six different allied NATO countries in Europe. We have agreed to do the same thing, without, I stress, violating our international non-proliferation obligations,” the Russian president stated

Putin referred to the U.S. and NATO allies and said that “They have [nuclear weapons] in certain countries, prepare the delivery systems, and train the crews. We are planning to do the same thing.”

Following the UK’s announcement that it would supply Ukraine with Ukraine armor-piercing shells with depleted uranium for use with its Challenger 2 battle tanks, Russian President Putin said that he would also deploy depleted uranium ammunition if Ukraine receives such munitions from the West.

Belarus shares a border with Russia on its east and Ukraine on its west. Russian forces used Belarus as a launchpad to initiate an attack on Ukraine’s northern regions in February 2022. Putin’s announcement of the deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus fulfills Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s longstanding request for the deployment of nuclear weapons in his country.

Ukraine was quick to condemn Russia’s plans to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus. A senior adviser to the Ukrainian President, Mikhail Podolyak, said that by “Making a statement about tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, he [Putin] admits that he is afraid of losing and all he can do is scare with tactics.” Chair of Ukraine’s national security council, Oleksiy Danilov, wrote on Twitter that “The Kremlin took Belarus as a nuclear hostage.”

The U.S. however played down the Russian move, as a senior U.S. administration official indicated the West does not consider the Russian move as any signal that it plans to use nuclear weapons. The U.S. official said, “We have not seen any reason to adjust our own strategic nuclear posture nor any indications Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon. We remain committed to the collective defense of the NATO alliance”.

Putin’s comments came only days after he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Moscow, as Beijing tried to find a political solution for the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. The U.S. has been accusing China of playing a double game, by portraying itself as a neutral party to broker a peace deal while supporting Russia in its military campaign against Ukraine, a claim that China denies.

While addressing the U.S. accusation regarding China’s supply of lethal weapons to Russia, Putin said that “We are not creating any military alliance with China. Yes, we have military-technical cooperation. We are not hiding it. That is all transparent, there is nothing secret there.”