The stationing of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus is also not to be seen as an offensive action by Russia, which instead has been doing nothing for years but to protect itself “from NATO initiatives.” It is the West that is still trying today to “create a new axis” as seen in the alliance between Germany, Italy and Japan in the 1930s.
Putin, who now seems to be increasingly identifying Russia with the Soviet Union, detailed his vision of the events of those years in the lengthy television interview he gave to the channel Rossiya 1, partly announced on Saturday with the announcement of the bombs laid in Belarus .
So if Moscow turns the country ruled with an iron fist by Aleksandr Lukashenko into its annex, the blame rests solely with Europe and the United States. Putin told the Russian viewers, who for the most part have no other means of information to get an idea of how things are going in the world. “The West is beginning to build a new axis similar to that created by the fascist regimes of Germany and Italy and militarist Japan in the 1930s.” An axis which, even then, Stalin claimed, was uniquely anti-Soviet.
The Kremlin chief reminded that it is the same European and American analysts who are talking about new relations between NATO and the countries of the Far East, from Japan, Korea to Australia and New Zealand. A kind of new mega-alliance aimed only at isolating and enabling Russia not to harm her.
Putin then touched on relations with China, saying that Moscow and Beijing have simple diplomatic and economic ties, as well as military exercises, and no actual alliance. Rather, it is Europe that, in his opinion, is becoming more and more dependent on China: “You should take care of yourself.”
During the interview, the Russian leader did not specify when the nuclear bombs will be transferred to Belarus. He only specified that a special deposit will be ready by July 1st. And he also reiterated that Belarusian pilots are being trained to pilot a dozen planes capable of carrying these bombs.
Both he and Lukashenko have long since confirmed that Iskander-M missiles with a range of around five hundred kilometers are also installed in the country between Russia and Poland. According to NATO, other identical means can also be found in the Kaliningrad region, which is sandwiched between the Baltic countries and Poland (it is the former East Prussia).
For now, the United States doesn’t seem particularly concerned about Putin’s announcement, confirming that it has no data showing genuine Russian intent to resort to nuclear weapons. Europeans are more tense, especially those capitals that were part of the Warsaw Pact (the alliance between Russia and its satellites in the old continent) and now see themselves on the front lines. These countries welcomed the decision of the Nordic countries (Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway) to coordinate their air forces. A move that could make NATO deterrence more efficient.
The EU foreign policy chief Borrell then issued a warning to Minsk: Accepting the new military means could lead to further sanctions against Belarus.
Putin’s interview on one of the two most popular TV channels also serves to reinforce the internal view of a Russia in an emergency, if not at war, just like the USSR during the so-called Great Patriotic War. And this rhetoric pays off: 79.3 percent of Russians still trust the Chief. Other polls also tell us that even those who want the operation in Ukraine to end soon do not think of Russia’s defeat.