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Putin jumps on the nuclear sword: Russia vows to place tactical nuclear weapons on Belarus’ borders with Poland and the Baltic states from July amid rising tensions with NATO
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Russia’s ambassador to Belarus said Sunday that Russian tactical nuclear weapons will be deployed near Belarus’ borders with its NATO neighbours, amid rising tensions between Russia and the West over Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Ambassador Boris Gryzlov’s comment came on the heels of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent statement about plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Russia’s neighbor and ally. The announcement was yet another attempt by the Russian leader to brandish the nuclear threat to dissuade the West from supporting Ukraine.
Putin said construction of Belarus’ tactical nuclear weapons storage facilities would be completed by July 1, and added that Russia had helped modernize Belarusian warplanes to make them capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the opening ceremony of new drug production facilities in the Kaliningrad region, Mordovia and St. Petersburg via video conference in Moscow, Russia, March 30, 2023.
Sarmat missile test launch on April 20, 2022
The two neighbors have an agreement that provides for close economic, political and military relations. Russia used the Belarusian lands as a springboard for the invasion of Ukraine and kept a contingent of troops and weapons there.
Gryzlov said in remarks broadcast on Belarusian state television late Sunday that Russia’s nuclear weapons “will be moved near the western borders of our federal state,” but did not name any specific location.
“It will expand our defense capability, and it will be done regardless of all the noise in Europe and the United States,” he said, referring to Western criticism of Putin’s decision.
Belarus shares a 778-mile border with NATO members Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland.
Su-25 fighters of the Belarusian Army fly during a military parade marking Independence Day in Minsk, Belarus, July 3, 2019.
Tactical nuclear weapons, aimed at destroying enemy forces and weapons on the battlefield, have a relatively short range and much lower yield compared to the nuclear warheads fitted to long-range strategic missiles capable of wiping out entire cities.
Deploying Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus will bring it closer to potential targets in Ukraine and NATO members in Eastern and Central Europe.
Belarusian authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Friday that some of Russia’s strategic nuclear weapons may be deployed in Belarus along with part of Russia’s tactical nuclear arsenal.