- Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement appears to be another attempt to raise the stakes in the Ukraine war
- Putin said that Lukashenko has long urged Russia to station its nuclear weapons in Belarus
- Belarus said it decided to host the weapons after years of pressure from the US and its allies
Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed with his ally, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, to station tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian soil.
Putin added that Russia had already transferred ten aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons to the country.
Russia to Deploy Tactical Nuclear Weapons in Belarus
The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell asked Belarus not to host the weapons, stating that doing so "would constitute an irresponsible escalation and a threat to European security." A NATO representative characterized Russia's nuclear bluster as "dangerous and reckless."
Meanwhile, the 18 Leopard 2 tanks the German government provided to help Kyiv's military effort have arrived in Ukraine. As per CNBC, roughly 40 Marder infantry combat vehicles have already entered Ukraine.
The German military has spent the previous two months training Ukrainian soldiers on weapon systems in Munster, Germany. After German Chancellor Olaf Scholz decided to offer Ukraine Leopard 2 tanks, the Biden administration stated that it would furnish Ukraine with the powerful M1A1 Abrams tank.
The 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks will augment the more than $27 billion the United States has given to Ukraine's defense since Russia's invasion more than a year ago. Putin said that Lukashenko has long wanted Moscow to store its nuclear weapons in his nation, which has close military relations with Russia and was a staging site for the invasion of neighboring Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
Russia has already helped modernize Belarusian warplanes to make them capable of carrying nuclear weapons - something Belarus' authoritarian leader has repeatedly mentioned. Putin said the immediate trigger for deploying Russia's tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus was the UK government's decision to provide Ukraine with armor-piercing shells containing depleted uranium.
Putin toned down his language after falsely claiming that such rounds have nuclear components. However, he insisted they pose an additional danger to the civilian population and could contaminate the environment, per ABC News. The Russian president also claimed that by stationing tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, Russia would do what the United States has done for decades by putting its nuclear weapons in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkey.
Vladimir Putin Insists Move is Not an International Violation
He alleged the Russian move doesn't violate an international treaty banning the proliferation of nuclear weapons, even though Moscow has argued before that Washington has breached the pact by deploying them on the territory of its NATO allies.
Tactical nuclear weapons are intended to destroy enemy troops and weapons on the battlefield. They have a very small range and far lower yield than nuclear warheads mounted to long-range strategic missiles capable of obliterating large cities. Unlike strategic weapons, which have been subject to arms control agreements between Moscow and Washington, tactical weapons have never been limited by such pacts. Russia hasn't released its numbers or any other specifics related to them.
The Washington Examiner said the Kremlin downplayed Western nations' worries about Russia's intent to station nuclear weapons in Belarus.
According to the Russian leader, the decision to give Ukraine uranium-depleted armor-piercing shells prompted the action. It serves as an effort to dissuade the UK and its NATO allies from continuing military support for Ukraine and marks another instance of Putin.
Its NATO allies from continuing military support for Ukraine and marks another instance of Putin. Putin's soldiers also invaded Ukraine from Belarus, its northern neighbor, since it offered a faster route to Ukraine's capital. However, the effort to overturn Kyiv proved intractable in the initial months of the conflict, and Moscow refocused its military in the eastern portion of the nation.
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