Russia's President Vladimir Putin said on Friday, June 9, that the country's first deployment of tactical nuclear weapons outside of Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union would begin on July 7-8. That is when specialized storage facilities would be ready.
According to Reuters, Putin claims that the US and its Western allies are supplying weapons to Ukraine as part of an escalating proxy war with the goal of bringing Russia to its knees. This allegation comes more than 15 months into the longest land conflict in Europe since World War Two.
A Message to NATO and the US Military Alliance for Supporting Ukraine
In March, Putin announced that he intended to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. This seemed to be a warning to the military alliance headed by the US and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) over their support for Ukraine.
NATO leaders have pledged their unwavering backing for Ukraine, saying they would stand by the country as long as it needs them to repel what Kyiv sees as an imperialistic territorial grab by Russia that threatens the country's very existence.
During their meeting at Putin's summer residence on the Black Sea in Sochi, the Russian leader assured the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, that the nuclear deployment was proceeding as planned.
According to a Kremlin translation, Putin said, "Preparation of the relevant facilities ends on July 7-8, and we will immediately begin activities related to the deployment of appropriate types of weapons on your territory."
To which Lukashenko responded, "Thank you, Vladimir Vladimirovich."
Also Read : Ukraine Launches Full-Scale Offensive? Kyiv's HIMARS Used in Front Lines To Hit Russian Positions
The Russia-Ukraine War
Putin portrays the conflict as a fight for Russia's survival against what he claims is an ever-expanding NATO military presence in the world. He has cautioned Western nations that Moscow would not back down from their position.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that his nation would not rest until every single Russian soldier has been evacuated from his country. Zelenskiy also wants Ukraine to join NATO as soon as possible.
The US, NATO, and European allies are keeping close tabs on Putin's nuclear move, as does China, which has consistently warned against the use of nuclear weapons in the battle.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the US and Russia collaborated closely to bring back the massive Soviet nuclear weapons to Russia that had been stationed in newly independent nations, including Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus.
As of the 1945 bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the US was the only country to have used nuclear weapons in anger.
UK Punishes Belarus for Ukraine War Involvement
Over Minsk's persistent backing of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the UK has sanctioned exports and online propaganda.
In a report by Financial Times on Thursday, June 8, the House of Commons passed Belarus II legislation. They include a prohibition on Belarusian gold, cement, timber, and rubber, regime funding sources.
