Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has announced that the process of deploying Russian tactical nuclear weapons has begun in his country.
After the dissolution of the former Soviet Union in 1992, this is the first time Russia is deploying its nuclear weapons beyond its borders.
In a TV interview with Channel One Russia (Russia-1), President Lukashenko said, “We have received missiles and bombs from Russia.”
Lukashenko further added that the bombs are three times more powerful than the ones used in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
On Friday, Jun 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow will deploy nuclear tactical weapons to Belarus after stockpiles were ready.
In March, Russia announced that Moscow reached an agreement with Minsk to shift nuclear weapons to Belarus, adding the United States had already taken similar initiatives in certain European countries.
While criticizing Russia’s decision, American officials said they have no intentions to change US’s position regarding its strategic nuclear weapons, and there is no sign that Russia is ready to use these weapons.
The two arch-Cold War rivals, Russia and the US seem to have entered a new phase of heightened diplomatic relations over the Ukraine war. Since the outbreak of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2023, the US and other NATO member states have been continuously supplying Ukraine with arms and military supplies to defend itself against Russian aggression.
