Russia: Vladimir Putin to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus

Vladimir Putin affirmed, through an interview given this Saturday on Russian television, that Moscow was going to deploy “tactical” nuclear weapons in Belarus, a country located at the gates of the European Union.

“Nothing unusual”, according to Vladimir Putin. The Russian head of state says that “the United States has been doing this for decades. They have long deployed their tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of their allies.” Still under an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the Russian president would have “decided to do the same”, adding that he had the Minsk agreement.

“We have already helped our Belarusian colleagues and equipped their planes (…) without violating our international commitments regarding the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. Ten planes are ready to use this type of weapon. (…) From April 3, we begin to train the crews. And on July 1, we will complete the construction of a special warehouse for tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus,” he added.

A response to a threat

These statements, made on March 25 on Russian television, were motivated, according to the president, by London’s desire to send depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine, as recently mentioned by a British official.

Vladimir Putin also threatened to use these types of shells if Ukraine were to receive them. “Russia, of course, has something to answer for. We have, without exaggeration, hundreds of thousands of such shells. We are not using them at the moment,” he said.