- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday announced that Moscow will station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus amid the Russia-Ukraine war.
- The United States says there's no indication that Russia will use the nuclear weapons but they will monitor the situation closely.
- Vladimir Putin's announcement was made in light of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's continued call for further military support as Ukraine prepares for a counterattack in Bakhmut.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday warned NATO over its military assistance for Ukraine and escalated a conflict with the West by stationing tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus for the first time in decades.
In the 13 months of the Russia-Ukraine war, this is one of Moscow's most overt nuclear signals, although it was predicted that Putin has assured the world that it will not breach agreements on nuclear weapons build-up, according to Reuters.
Russia has not stationed nuclear weapons overseas since the mid-1990s, so this might be a first. But, he did not provide a time frame for when Belarus, which shares borders with three NATO countries Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia, would receive the weaponry.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko agreed on the stationing of tactical Russia nuclear weapons in his country, according to Vladimir Putin.
Vladimir Putin also made the analogy that Russia would not cede authority to Belarus and compared his intentions to the United States stationing its weapons in Europe.
"There is nothing unusual here either: firstly, the United States has been doing this for decades, he said in a state broadcast.
US Carefully Responds to Vladimir Putin's Nuclear Weapons Stationing in Belarus
President Vladimir Putin stressed that Russia will not go against its international obligations on "the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons."
Russia's building of a facility in Belarus to store tactical nuclear weapons will be finished by July 1st, the Russian head of state noted.
President Putin has said that a limited amount of Russian nuclear weapons Iskander tactical missile systems, capable of launching nuclear warheads, have already been sent to Belarus.
With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the bases for the country's armed forces were dispersed among the four newly independent governments of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, with the final turnover of all warheads to Russia occurring in 1996, according to the BBC.
The United States has cautiously responded to Putin's warning, stating there were no indications of Moscow's intention to utilize Russian nuclear weapons. The US Department of Defense has said it would keep a close eye on developments.
In a statement, it 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."
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The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons condemned the announcement of Vladimir Putin, which it described as being exceedingly risky.
Miscalculation or misunderstanding is quite possible in the context of the conflict in Ukraine. The group warned that the potential of "catastrophic humanitarian consequences" from the spread of nuclear weapons, per CNBC.
Ukraine Continues To Seek Military Aid
Minsk authorized Moscow to utilize territory controlled by Belarus to transfer soldiers into Ukraine last year, demonstrating the tight military ties between Russia and Belarus. Throughout January, military drills between the two countries were intensified.
Putin's remarks follow Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's reiterated request for further military aid from the West. Last week, 18 nations agreed to provide at least a million artillery rounds to the conflict zone over the next year.
The top commander of Ukraine's ground forces indicated this week that his country's troops, who have been on the defense for four months, will launch a major counterstrike "very soon" to capitalize on Russia's weakening assault in Bakhmut in the Russia Ukraine war, per an earlier HNGN report.
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