Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that Moscow would deploy “tactical” nuclear weapons on the territory of its ally Belarus, a country just outside the European Union.
• Also read: According to Ukraine, the situation near Bakhmout has “stabilized”.
“There is nothing unusual here: the United States has been doing this for decades. They have long stationed their tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of their allies,” Putin said in an interview broadcast on Russian television.
“We agreed to do the same,” he added, saying he had the Minsk agreement.
“We have already helped our Belarusian colleagues and equipped their planes (…) without violating our international commitments on non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. Ten aircraft are ready to use this type of weapon,” Mr. Putin continued.
“From April 3rd we will start training the crews. And on July 1 we will complete the construction of a special storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus,” he added.
According to Putin, this decision was motivated by London’s desire to send depleted uranium ammunition to Ukraine, as recently mentioned by a British official.
Mr. Putin threatened to use this type of shells as well if Kiev should receive them.
“Of course, Russia has something to answer for. Without exaggeration, we have hundreds of thousands of such shells. We don’t currently use them,” the Russian president said.