Ukraine called for a strong international response to Russia’s announcement. In a statement on Sunday, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs convened an extraordinary meeting of the UN Security Council. Ukraine expects “effective measures” from Britain, China, the United States and France to end Russia’s “nuclear blackmail”, Ukraine’s foreign ministry said.
In the statement, Kiev appealed to the four states that, alongside Russia, have a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. “The Kremlin has taken Belarus as a nuclear hostage,” tweeted Ukraine Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov on Sunday. This decision was a “step towards the internal destabilization of the country”.
Poland alarmed
Poland also sharply criticized Putin’s announcement. “We condemn this increased threat to peace in Europe and the world,” a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Warsaw was quoted as saying by the PAP agency on Sunday. Russia’s deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus directly violates Belarus’ constitution, criticized exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya also on Twitter.
Fritz (ORF) on Putin’s announcement
Peter Fritz (ORF) speaks, among other things, about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement that he had agreed to the deployment of nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory with Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko. He also discusses how dangerous this announcement is and whether his argument that the West is also deploying nuclear weapons is correct.
“Russia is acting as an occupying power, violating national security and putting Belarus on a collision course with its neighbors and the international community,” wrote the politician, who was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison in his country. Christmas. “We also call on the world to demand the immediate withdrawal of Russian armed forces from Belarus and stop Belarus’ involvement in Russian aggression against Ukraine,” Tikhanovskaya said.
EU threatens sanctions
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell threatened Belarus with new sanctions on Sunday. Such a move “would signify irresponsible escalation and a threat to European security,” Borrell wrote on Twitter. The Belarusian government “can still prevent this, it’s their decision,” added Borrell.
NATO not surprised
Putin justified his decision to deploy nuclear weapons in the country of Russian-dependent ruler Alexander Lukashenko in the summer with a backlash to the West. The United States also had nuclear weapons stockpiled with its European allies. For example, the United States has deployed nuclear weapons in Germany. “We are just doing what they have been doing for decades,” the Kremlin chief said. In addition, British Deputy Defense Secretary Annabel Goldie announced her intention to supply Ukraine with armor-piercing ammunition containing enriched uranium.
debate
What would the end of the war in Ukraine look like?
However, NATO sees no need for action regarding its own nuclear weapons. A spokeswoman said on Sunday that someone was vigilant and watching the situation closely. “We haven’t seen any changes to Russia’s nuclear programming that would cause us to adjust ours,” she said. Russia’s nuclear rhetoric is dangerous and irresponsible.
Russia’s reference to NATO nuclear sharing is misleading, NATO said: “NATO allies are acting in full compliance with their international obligations,” the spokeswoman said. Russia has repeatedly violated its arms control obligations.
Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas wrote that no particular reaction to Russian plans was needed. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Vilnius, on the other hand, called for tightening sanctions against the two countries. A new sanctions package, which is already being negotiated in Brussels, must be expanded, he said.
Experts see no increased risk of aggravation
American experts also saw no growing danger of nuclear war. The announcement was irrelevant to the “risk of escalation to nuclear war, which remains extremely low”, according to an analysis by the US Institute for War Studies (ISW). Russia has already managed to reach any point on Earth with its nuclear weapons. But Putin is a “risk-averse actor who repeatedly threatens to use nuclear weapons without intending to do so”.
Putin wants to provoke fears of a nuclear escalation in the West to break support for Ukraine, for example, in the delivery of heavy weapons. According to the ISW assessment, it is “very unlikely that Russia will use nuclear weapons in Ukraine or anywhere else”. According to ISW, Putin’s step had already been announced before the war in Ukraine. By deploying nuclear weapons in Belarus, Russia is, above all, consolidating its influence in the former Soviet republic.
In ISW’s new analysis, experts are also doubtful of Putin’s announcement that he would build or modernize 1,600 tanks this year. Russia’s only tank factory, Uralvagonzavod, can only produce 20 tanks a month, but it is losing many times that number every day in the war in Ukraine.
Training is expected to begin next month.
According to Putin, training in tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus should start next month. Stores for the nuclear missiles should be ready in July. Lukashenko had already asked for these weapons to be deployed before the war.
Tactical nuclear weapons have a shorter range than ICBMs, but still several hundred kilometers. They are designed for use in a combat zone. Strategic nuclear weapons, on the other hand, can hit targets thousands of kilometers away with the help of ICBMs.