War in Ukraine. Russia will deploy “tactical” nuclear weapons in Belarus, Vladimir Putin announced

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Saturday that Moscow will deploy nuclear weapons.tacticson the territory of its ally, Belarus, a country located at the gates of the European Union. Russian officials have repeatedly issued thinly veiled threats to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine if the conflict escalates significantly. Since 1994, under the leadership of Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus borders Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania.

“There is nothing unusual here. The United States has been doing this for decades. They have long deployed their tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of their alliessaid Vladimir Putin in an interview broadcast on Russian television. “We agreed to do the sameHe added that he has the Minsk agreement.

“We have already helped our Belarusian partners and re-equipped their planes (…) without violating our international obligations related to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. Ten aircraft are ready to use this type of weaponVladimir Putin continued. “From April 3, we start the training of the staff. And on July 1, we will complete the construction of a special storage of tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus.“, he added.

Repeated nuclear threats

According to Vladimir Putin, this decision is due to London’s desire to send spent uranium ammunition to Ukraine, as a British official recently mentioned. The Russian president threatened to use this type of projectile if Kiev receives it. “Russia, of course, has something to answer. We have, without exaggeration, hundreds of thousands of such shells. We are not using them at this time– said the head of the Kremlin.

During the recent talks between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping in Moscow, the two leaders said in a joint statement that nuclear war is imminent.should never be run“because”there can be no winners“. Several Russian officials, including former President Dmitry Medvedev, have, however, threatened Ukraine and Western countries with nuclear weapons since the start of the Russian offensive on February 24, 2022.

Russia also suspended the landmark New Beginning nuclear disarmament treaty with the United States last month, although it pledged to respect limits on its nuclear arsenal until the deal expires on February 5, 2026.

Last year, Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of “dirty bomb“A weapon consisting of conventional explosives surrounded by radioactive material, designed to disperse into dust upon detonation. Ukraine and its Western allies have condemned the allegations and accused Russia of playing nuclear escalation. The Russian nuclear doctrine does not envisage the preemptive use of nuclear weapons by Russia, but only in response to an attack on its allies or “threat to the existence of the state itself“.