Moscow will station nuclear weapons on the territory of its Belarusian ally. A measure presented in response to London’s promised delivery of depleted uranium ammunition to Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin again raises the specter of nuclear weapons in the context of the Ukraine conflict. During an interview on Russian television broadcast on Saturday, March 25, the head of state announced the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. “There is nothing unusual here: the United States has been doing this for decades. They have been stationing their tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of their allies for a long time,” the Russian leader said, adding that he had Minsk’s approval for the operation. “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,” Vladimir Putin said.
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The Russian President presents this decision as a reaction to the shipment of depleted uranium ammunition to Ukraine by London, mentioned by the British Deputy Secretary of Defense on March 20. What weapons are we talking about exactly? What consequences will their use have? Franceinfo returns to this subject in three questions.
1 What is a tactical nuclear weapon?
If the distinction seems somewhat artificial to those skilled in the art, so-called strategic nuclear weapons intended to destroy targets using, in particular, ballistic missiles are contrasted with tactical nuclear weapons. Their use is theoretically limited to the battlefield. A tactical nuclear weapon is thus a “reduced” power nuclear bomb used, for example, to target units of the opposing army, such as a tank column.
In Belarus, we can assume that “small” weapons with a strength of about 10 to 50 kilotons will come to equip the Belarusian Sukhoi bombers,” says franceinfo Stéphane Audrand, adviser specializing in armaments. So it’s a relative weakness: for comparison, the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 had a strength of about 16 kilotons.
2 Why does Russia want to station these nuclear weapons in Belarus?
Vladimir Putin is presenting the deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus in response to the March 20 British announcement of supplies of depleted uranium ammunition to Ukraine. In fact, this decision seems to have been prepared almost nine months ago. “In the coming months we will (…) transfer Iskander-M tactical missile systems capable of using ballistic or cruise missiles in their conventional and nuclear versions,” announced the Russian President on June 25, 2022 after a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko. “[Vladimir] Putin also said he would modify Belarusian attack aircraft to carry tactical nuclear weapons,” recalled Stéphane Audrand.
Fortunately, the deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus does not necessarily mean that they will be used in the near future. “The hypotheses on the use of nuclear weapons remain very improbable, and their use does not actually change much in the world situation,” estimates the armaments specialist. On the other hand, the delivery of these weapons is a sign of a strengthened alliance between Minsk and Moscow. “The sharing of nuclear weapons is the greatest sign of trust that can exist between two countries, stresses Stéphane Audrand. However, Moscow will remain the sole owner and decision-maker over the use of these weapons.
For Ukraine, the presence of Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus is proof that “the Kremlin has taken over [le pays] as a nuclear hostage,” continued Twitter on March 26, Secretary of Ukraine’s Security Council Oleksiï Danilov said, adding that this decision represents a “step towards internal destabilization” of Belarus.
3 What are depleted uranium ammunition, the supply of which to Ukraine is denounced by Moscow?
Speaking to the House of Lords on Monday, Deputy Defense Secretary Annabel Goldie said Britain would supply depleted uranium shells to Ukraine. This ammunition is known to be particularly effective against armored vehicles. “Depleted uranium is a by-product of the enrichment of nuclear fuel used for nuclear power plants,” explains Stéphane Audrand. It’s an extremely dense metal that we use to make anti-tank shell penetrators.”
“Depleted uranium is very slightly radioactive, less than the naturally occurring natural uranium in the ground,” the specialist continues. Like other conventional munitions that disperse heavy metals, “their use causes only chemical pollution and no radioactive contamination,” stresses Stéphane Audrand.
However, the radiological toxicity of depleted uranium ammunition is controversial. Numerous studies have concluded that there is no evidence of its harmfulness, but these results remain controversial. In fact, depleted uranium shells produce uranium dust and metal fragments when they hit their target. According to the studies, to which the International Atomic Energy Agency was linked, “in cases where the presence of depleted uranium had caused local contamination from the environment, the radiological risk to which the population and the environment were exposed was not significant Form of small particles released on impact.”
On the other hand, the United Nations warns that “when fragments of depleted uranium munitions or complete munitions of this type are discovered, people who come into direct contact with these objects could suffer from the effects of radiation”. “Ammunition containing depleted uranium is absolutely not considered a nuclear weapon,” emphasizes the specialist. For Stéphane Audrand, it is “propaganda” to justify the use of nuclear weapons by supplying depleted uranium ammunition, as Moscow is doing. “These weapons have nothing in common or equal,” he stresses.