Vladimir Putin announced that Russia plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. Image source: Burnt Pineapple Productions/Wikimedia
NATO has called out Vladimir Putin for “dangerous” nuclear rhetoric following his announcement of plans to place tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
Tactical nuclear weapons are designed to be used strategically for gains on battlefields, rather than more powerful nuclear bombs that are capable of wiping out cities.
Putin’s announced the plans on the weekend, stating that they are similar to the US stationing its own nuclear weapons in Europe. He also insisted that Russia would not violate its promises on nuclear non-proliferation.
“We are not handing over [nuclear weapons]. And the US does not hand [them] over to its allies. We’re basically doing the same thing they’ve been doing for a decade,” said Putin.
NATO has previously criticised Putin’s nuclear strategy since the beginning of the Ukraine War, and NATO authorities said the new move was not unexpected, and that it would be “closely monitoring” the situation.
“Russia’s nuclear rhetoric is dangerous and irresponsible,” said NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu yesterday. “NATO is vigilant and we are closely monitoring the situation. We have not seen any changes in Russia’s nuclear posture that would lead us to adjust our own.”
She defended the US’ nuclear strategy saying Putin’s description of U.S. weapons deployment overseas and his non-proliferation pledge were inaccurate.
“Russia’s reference to NATO’s nuclear sharing is totally misleading. NATO allies act with full respect of their international commitments,” she said via a statement. “Russia has consistently broken its arms control commitments.”
NATO says it would not change its own nuclear strategy despite the move, and the US has said it does not believe Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons.
However, Ukraine is clearly on edge after calling for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to address the potential threat after Russia’s announcement to place tactical nukes in Belarus.
Ukraine’s security chief, Oleksiy Danilov, said Putin’s plan would destabilise Belarus, and claimed Moscow has essentially taken Belarus “hostage”.
According to Putin, Russia already has 10 aircraft in Belarus that are capable of being armed with tactical nuclear weapons. He also added that Moscow has transferred a number of Iskander tactical missile systems to Belarus — systems which can be used to launch nuclear weapons.
It remains unclear the total number of nuclear weapons Russia’s arsenal contains, as the topic is still clouded in Cold War-era secrecy.
Putin has been busy firming up his country’s foreign ties, having met with China’s leader, Xi Jinping last week to discuss the Ukraine war and world issues.
