Russia might put strategic nukes in Belarus, leader says
Associated PressTALLINN, Estonia — Russian strategic nuclear weapons might be deployed to Belarus along with part of Russia’s tactical nuclear arsenal, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Friday, ramping up his rhetoric amid tensions with the West over the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine. “These are our weapons and they will contribute to ensuring sovereignty and independence.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday denounced Putin’s plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus as a reflection of Russia’s battlefield setbacks and its increasing global isolation. Zelenskyy argued that it also means Lukashenko has yielded completely to Moscow’s control, adding: “I think he no longer decides which weapons are located on his territory.” Putin has said that construction of storage facilities for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus will be completed by July 1 and added that Russia has helped modernize Belarusian warplanes to make them capable of carrying nuclear weapons. While the deployment of Russian short-range tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus would put them closer to potential targets in Ukraine and NATO members in Eastern and Central Europe, it wouldn’t make much sense for the Kremlin to station any of its strategic nuclear-tipped missiles on Belarusian territory.