US Cautious as Russia Deploys Nukes to Belarus Amid Ukraine Conflict
Vladimir Putin asserts that the weapons to be stationed in Belarus – which does not possess nuclear weapons – would remain under Russian control, thereby not violating any international agreements.
The United States has responded with caution to Russia’s decision to position nuclear weapons in Belarus.
Saturday, a Russian news agency reported that Vladimir Putin signed an agreement to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
According to reports, ten aircraft capable of transporting the weapons, which are designed for use on the battlefield and not to destroy cities, have already been moved there.
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It is the first time since the mid-1990s that such weapons have been stationed outside of Russia.
However, a senior US administration official told Reuters that there are no indications that Moscow intends to use the weapons.
“We have seen no reason to alter our strategic nuclear posture, nor any indications that Russia is preparing to employ nuclear weapons.”
We remain committed to the NATO alliance’s collective defense.
A senior security advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed concern that the move would destabilize Belarus.
“The Kremlin has taken Belarus as a nuclear hostage,” tweeted the head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, Oleksiy Danilov.
“No violation” of the nuclear agreement
According to the Russian news agency Tass, Mr. Putin stated that the decision would not violate nuclear non-proliferation agreements because the United States already has such weapons stationed in Europe.
This is a reference to a treaty aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and keeping them out of the hands of nations that do not already possess them.
Mr. Putin, however, has stated that the weapons that will be stationed in Belarus, which does not possess nuclear weapons, will remain under Russian control.
First, the United States has been doing this for decades, so there is nothing unusual about it. They have had their tactical nuclear weapons stationed on the territory of their allies for a long time, Mr. Putin stated on state television.
“We agreed to do the same – without violating our international obligations on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, I must emphasize,”
According to the Centre for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, the United States has an estimated 100 nuclear warheads at air bases in Europe, including Germany, the Netherlands, and Turkey.
Belarus’s reliance on Russia
As a result of heavy Western arms shipments to Kyiv and Moscow’s shift in its military operation’s rhetoric from “demilitarisation” of its neighbor to fighting “the collective West” in Ukraine, tensions have increased over the conflict in Ukraine.
This agreement is further evidence of the Kremlin’s reliance on Belarus as an ally in the Ukraine conflict.
Both Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko have visited each other in their respective capital cities.
Belarus has also assisted in the training of Russian troops, cared for the wounded, and provided supplies. The regime has also permitted Russia to launch land and air attacks from its territory.
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