Russia, at the request of the Belarusian side, will deploy its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, just as the United States has been doing this on the territory of its allied countries for a long time. This was announced on Saturday by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the air of the Rossiya-24 TV channel.
“Even outside the context of these events, this statement (about possible supplies of depleted uranium ammunition by Britain to Ukraine – approx. TASS) Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko has long raised the question of deploying Russian tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus,” Putin said. He stressed that there is “nothing unusual” in this. “The United States has been doing this for decades. They have long placed their tactical nuclear weapons on the territories of their allies, NATO countries, and in Europe. In six states – the Federal Republic of Germany, Turkey, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Greece – well, there is no Greece now, but there is a repository,” the Russian president said.
“And we have agreed [with Belarus]that we will do the same. Without violating, I want to emphasize this, my international obligations on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons,” Putin stressed.
Crew training and storage
“We have already helped our Belarusian colleagues to refit their planes. 10 aircraft are ready for the use of this type of weapon. We have already transferred our well-known, very effective Iskander complex to Belarus, it can also be a carrier [of tactical nuclear weapons]. From April 3, we will start training crews and on July 1 we will finish the construction of a special storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus,” the head of state said.
“So everything that the President of Belarus asked, all the questions he raised in this regard, they are being implemented, and all our agreements will take place in the very near future,” the Russian leader continued. At the same time, he stressed that Russia does not transfer such weapons to Belarus, just as the United States does not transfer them to its allies. “In principle, we are doing all the same things that they have been doing for decades,” Putin explained, noting that the Americans are deploying these weapons and preparing carriers and crews. “We are going to do the same thing, that’s what Alexander Grigoryevich asked for,” concluded the President of the Russian Federation.
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko earlier, in response to Britain’s plans to supply Ukraine with depleted uranium shells, said that Russia would supply Belarus with “ammunition with real uranium.”
“As for our talks with Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko… Just a reason (for the statements of the Belarusian leader – approx. TASS) was the statement of the British Deputy Defense Minister [Annabel Goldie] that they are going to supply depleted uranium charges to Ukraine, this is somehow connected with nuclear technologies,” Putin said.
A source: https://e-cis.info/news/568/109359/
