Russia to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, US sees no sign of actual deployment | Abroad

According to Putin, Russia will not violate international agreements: “There is nothing unusual in this: the United States has been doing this for decades. They have been deploying tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of their allies for a long time,” Putin said. “We (Russia and Belarus, ed.) I agree to do the same.”

According to Putin, Belarusian planes are already equipped. “Ten planes are ready to use this type of weapons,” the Russian president said. “From April 3, we will start training the teams. On July 1, we will complete a special storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus.

Belarus is an ally of Russia. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is militarily, politically and economically dependent on Moscow. The West does not recognize his re-election as president in 2020.

With the new agreement between Russia and Belarus, nuclear weapons will return to Belarus after decades. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, nuclear weapons were located in the new countries of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. In the following year, it was agreed that all these weapons would remain in Russia. The transfers were completed in 1996.

The US Department of Defense says it is monitoring the situation and sees no reason to adjust US nuclear strategy. We are committed to the collective defense of the NATO alliance. A key ally of Russia, Belarus shares borders with NATO member states Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.

Putin also threatened to use depleted uranium bombs if Ukraine received such missiles from the West. “That’s not an exaggeration, we have hundreds of thousands of bombs of that type. We do not currently use them.

In addition, due to the supply of Western tanks to Ukraine, Russia will increase the production of its own tanks. “The total number of tanks of the Russian army is three times the number of Ukrainians, more than three times,” Putin said. A total of 1,600 tanks will be deployed. Former President Dmitry Medvedev had already announced the production of 1,500 tanks this week.

According to the president, the defense sector is growing rapidly, but he also said he does not want to over-militarize the economy.