Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus
Mar 25, 2023 2:19pm ET
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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday announced plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, a warning to the West that is stepping up military support to Ukraine.
Putin said he was responding to Britain’s decision last week to provide Ukraine with armor-piercing depleted uranium shells. Russia falsely claimed these missiles had nuclear components.
He said Russia will retain control of the tactical nuclear weapons and the construction of storage facilities for them in Belarus will be completed by July 1.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has long asked for the guns, Putin said in an interview on Russian state television.
Russia has used Belarusian territory as a staging ground to send troops to Ukraine, and Moscow and Minsk have close military ties.
Putin pointed out that over the past year Russia has helped modernize Belarusian military aircraft to make them capable of carrying nuclear warheads. He said 10 such planes are ready for take off. He said nuclear weapons could also be carried by the short-range Iskander missiles that Russia supplied to Belarus last year.
Tactical nuclear weapons are intended for use on the battlefield, in contrast to more powerful, longer-range strategic nuclear weapons.