Russia will send nuclear weapons to Belarus next month, Vladimir Putin said on Friday.
“Everything is proceeding as planned,” Putin told his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko during televised remarks at his residence in Sochi. “On July 7-8 the preparations of the relevant facilities will be completed and we will immediately start the activities linked to the deployment of those weapons on your territory.”
“Thank you, Vladimir Vladimirovich,” said Lukashenko.
Putin previously announced deploying tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus in March, the first time Moscow would move such bombs since the fall of the Soviet Union. A potential deployment comes as Ukraine has started retaking eastern territories, setting the way for the country’s highly anticipated counter-offensive, and ramping up risk of a confrontation between Russia and NATO allies.
Putin claims that the Kremlin is upholding its non-proliferation terms by maintaining control over the weapons. However, he also acknowledges that Russia has trained Belarusian troops on the “storage and use of tactical special munitions” for short-range missiles as part of the project. Putin’s threats to use nuclear weapons have garnered criticism from the U.S. and Europe, and even countries more supportive towards Russia, including China and India.
“The international community should … jointly oppose the use or threats to use nuclear weapons, advocate that nuclear weapons must not be used and nuclear wars must not be fought, in order to prevent a nuclear crisis in Eurasia,” Chinese president Xi Jingping said last fall.
