Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Friday Russia had delivered its first tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, three months after the plan was initially announced. The move was used to bolster tensions with the US and its allies over the war in Ukraine.
"The first nuclear charges were delivered to the territory of Belarus," he said during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. "[B]y the end of the summer, by the end of the year, we will complete this work."
When asked about the potential use of nuclear weapons, Putin said Moscow would only do so if there was a threat to Russian statehood, and he saw no such necessity at this point.
However, the claim of the first nuclear weapons crossing over to Belarus is yet to be independently verified.
Moscow, Putin said in a statement last March, would train Belarusian pilots to deliver the warheads via Su-24 bombers and Iskander ballistic missiles, as well as build the required nuclear storage facilities, which were planned to be complete by the beginning of July when the transfer of weapons would begin.
The announcement came while Putin was hosting Lukashenko in the Black Sea coastal city of Sochi last week. "Everything is going to plan," he said.
In response, Belarusian president Alekshandr Lukashenko said the weapons deployed in his country would be "three times more powerful" than those dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the Second World War. "God forbid I have to make a decision to use those weapons today, but there would be no hesitation if we face an aggression," he added.
US Response
The US State Department stated that Lukashenko has chosen to "cede more control" over his country to Russia in exchange for nuclear weapons.
"We'll continue to monitor how it unfolds and the implications," said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller responding to journalists at a Thursday briefing. "As we've said before-and it continues to be the case-we have not seen any reason to adjust our own nuclear posture nor any indications that Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon."
Miller added Lukashenko's "irresponsible and provocative choices" to exchange Belarusian sovereignty with tactical nuclear weapons were "against the will of the Belarusian people."
US President Joe Biden expressed "extremely negative" sentiment about the move, though US and NATO officials said they had seen no sign of a change in Russian nuclear posture yet.
Belarusian Opposition: Nukes in Belarus a Bad Idea
Meanwhile, the Belarusian democratic opposition told Newsweek the deployment of Russian nuclear weapons would endanger the Belarusian people in the event of a conflict with the West and stroke further opposition to Lukashenko's dictatorial rule.
Exiled Belarusian pro-democratic leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said on Twitter the transfer of Russian nukes to Belarus "grossly contradicts the will of the Belarusian people."
In a separate interview with the BBC, she also accused Western politicians of "staying silent" about the first deployment of nukes since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
"Belarus is our country and we don't want nuclear weapons," she added. "This is like the last step to keeping our independence. And they [in the West] are staying silent about that."
Tsikhanouskaya's chief political adviser Franak Viačorka added the West should decisively respond to Putin's announcement to stir up the resistance movement at home. "It will increase the disobedience [and] discontent within Belarusian society, including partisan activities," he said.
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