Belarus

The Kremlin “took Belarus as a nuclear hostage,” Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, tweeted on Sunday. Mykhailo ...

said it would “monitor the implications” of Putin’s announcement but would not adjust its nuclear weapons strategy. Russia used Belarus as a staging ground to send troops into Ukraine for Putin’s invasion. “The United States has been doing this for decades,” Putin was quoted as saying. [said](https://www.politico.eu/article/putin-says-russia-to-deploy-tactical-nuclear-weapons-in-belarus-reports/) on Saturday that Russia would construct a storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus by July. stationing its nuclear weapons in Europe, and said Russia would retain control of the nuclear arms stationed in Belarus. “The comparison made by President Putin on the nuclear participation of NATO is misleading and cannot serve to justify the step announced by Russia,” the Foreign Office was

NATO called his rhetoric “dangerous and irresponsible,” while Ukraine accused President Vladimir Putin of making Belarus a “nuclear hostage” with his ...

Germany, which has [previously been cautious ](https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/germany-hesitant-to-send-tanks-to-ukraine-as-nato-discusses-weapon-supplies-160270917768)about providing military aid to Ukraine, “might be encouraged” by the potential threat of closer nuclear weapons, he added. “We have not seen any changes in Russia’s nuclear posture that would lead us to adjust our own,” Lungescu said. [Germany](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/poland-ask-go-ahead-send-tanks-ukraine-germany-signals-shift-veto-rcna66937), [Poland ](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/poland-ask-go-ahead-send-tanks-ukraine-germany-signals-shift-veto-rcna66937)and [Lithuania ](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/poland-ask-go-ahead-send-tanks-ukraine-germany-signals-shift-veto-rcna66937)was likely to [ “hasten Western weapons” to Ukraine](https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/zelenskyy-calls-on-the-west-to-speed-up-its-weapons-supplies-160029765576), he said. Moscow had already stationed 10 aircraft capable of carrying tactical nuclear weapons in the country, he said. Russia is also Belarus’ largest and most important political and economic partner. had “not seen any reason to adjust The two nations have stepped up joint military training. American reaction to Putin’s announcement was muted. [NATO’s](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/poland-ukraine-fighter-jets-first-nato-member-rcna75281) joint chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear regiment called the plan a “strategic error” and “another sign of desperation coming out of the Kremlin,” after 13 months of war in Ukraine and [few victories](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/ukraine-mistake-bakhmut-defense-retreat-russia-wagner-rcna74618) to show for it. [Belarus](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-moves-troops-belarus-joint-drills-ukraine-invasion-fears-rcna12533) to do and claiming 'Belarus asked us,' but not a peep about it from Minsk,” he said. [Ukraine](https://www.nbcnews.com/world/russia-ukraine-news) accused President [Vladimir Putin](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/vladimir-putin) of making Belarus a “nuclear hostage” with his announcement that Russia was going to store [ta](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/putin-says-moscow-deal-belarus-station-nuclear-weapons-rcna76675) [ctical nuclear weapons](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/putin-says-moscow-deal-belarus-station-nuclear-weapons-rcna76675) in the country, which both nations border. and Russia, the world’s two largest nuclear powers](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-catastrophic-consequences-nuclear-weapons-ukraine-us-warns-rcna49365).

Let's all hope that Chinese President Xi Jinping sees this outrage as a personal affront and gives his “friend” in Moscow a good talking to at once.

Putin is also trying to conflate his own plans in Belarus with the long-standing US practice of stationing nuclear bombs in Allied nations such as Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Turkey. As ever, Putin is using the full repertoire of the KGB methods he learned in his early career, distorting reality to create narratives that Russians and “useful idiots” in other countries will spread. The lesson for wannabe tyrants and aggressors everywhere — from North Korea to Iran and beyond — is plain. His escalation is especially odious because it rhymes with his suspension last month of New START, the only remaining arms control treaty to limit strategic nukes. In reality, Putin is once again ignoring — or perhaps relishing — the bitter irony of the perfidious path he followed to this moment in history. And he regards Belarus as a personal fief destined eventually to be merged into a “Union State” with — obviously — Putin at its head.

Russia has already transferred Iskander missile systems to Belarus, which are capable of carrying nuclear weapons, Vladimir Putin said.

Yet the risk of escalation to nuclear war "remains extremely low," the think tank said on Saturday. [Russia would station nuclear weapons in Belarus](https://www.newsweek.com/putin-station-nuclear-weapons-belarus-first-time-decades-1790318), which borders Ukraine. "There is nothing unusual about this," Putin told state television, saying the U.S. But the U.S. Belarus and its long-time strongman leader, Alexander Lukashenko, have been among the Kremlin's staunchest allies for decades. [Vladimir Putin](https://www.newsweek.com/topic/vladimir-putin) has taken Belarus "as a nuclear hostage," according to the head of Ukraine's national security council.

Western officials play down the significance of Russia stationing tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory.

Although Alexander Lukashenko has agreed to host nuclear bases little construction work seems to have started.

For non-weapon states and arms control advocates, however, that is a cynical dodge and against the spirit of the NPT. The Obama administration contemplated withdrawal of the B61s from Europe as a move towards disarmament, but some European allies resisted any move that might suggest the nuclear umbrella was getting thinner, and then relations with Moscow worsened again. The Soviet Union accepted them and at the time, Moscow could deploy its nuclear weapons in Belarus or any other of its republics. “I’ve looked around at some of the likely bases and I don’t see anything that indicates construction of a nuclear storage site,” said Hans Kristensen, director of the nuclear information project at the Federation of American Scientists. Instead, he focused on a longstanding gripe of Moscow’s about the US nuclear-sharing arrangements with five of its allies: Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Turkey. Over a year ago, the Belarus leader staged a referendum to change the constitution to allow for that.

Driving the news: Russian President Vladimir Putin announced during a TV interview on Saturday that Russia and Belarus have reached an agreement to deploy ...

- Tactical nuclear weapons are often used to achieve specific battlefield gains and differ from nuclear weapons that have the capacity to wipe out cities, according to Reuters. - "We have not seen any changes in Russia's nuclear posture that would lead us to adjust our own," the statement added. to alter its own strategic deterrent posture. The U.S. - "We've in fact seen no indication he has any intention to use nuclear weapons, period, inside Ukraine," he added, noting that nothing so far has caused the U.S. has not seen any signs that Russia has moved nuclear weapons to neighboring Belarus or anywhere else, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation."

As the United States prepares to co-host the second Summit for Democracy in Washington, Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced plans to station ...

U.S. officials and lawmakers reacted with caution and concern after Putin said he would be moving tactical nuclear weapons into Belarus near Ukraine.

and inspections of nuclear sites. "Not very responsible. "We can't allow that to be a cause for delaying critical weapon systems that we need to deliver to the Ukrainians." [said on CBS' "Face the Nation." It is something to be concerned about, but we should not allow his threat to deter us," said Gallagher, R-Wis. National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said later Saturday that the U.S. [said at a fundraiser in October](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-warns-putin-joking-nuclear-weapons/story?id=91157281) that Putin was "not joking when he talks about the use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons" and that "we have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis" in the 1960s. nothing to do with nuclear weapons." [subsequently said on "This Week"](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/bidens-warning-nuclear-armageddon-reflects-stakes-russia-imminent/story?id=91211670) in October that Biden was reflecting the very high "stakes" of the conflict rather than immediate danger. U.S. ](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/john-kirby-face-the-nation-transcript-03-26-2023/) "Obviously, we would agree that no nuclear war should be fought, no nuclear war could be won and clearly that would cross a major threshold." [tactical nuclear weapons](https://abcnews.go.com/WNN/video/putins-nuclear-threat-97410974) into neighboring Belarus, which provided a crucial staging ground [for the invasion of Ukraine](https://abcnews.go.com/International/russia-ukraine-war-key-events-year-russia-invaded/story?id=97255331).

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Saturday that the Kremlin plans to station nuclear weapons in Belarus, drawing claims of “nuclear blackmail” ...

“We demand to immediately convene an extraordinary meeting of the UN Security Council for this purpose.” and other western powers to counter Russia’s “nuclear blackmail.” Lukashenko is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and has helped Russia’s war by allowing Russian troops to stage attacks along its border with Ukraine. which will further turn this country into a hostage of the Kremlin.” “We are going to do the same thing.” “NATO is vigilant, and were are closely monitoring the situation. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the leader of the opposition to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, said Russia’s deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in her country would violate its constitution and “grossly contradicts the will of the Belarusian people.” The U.S. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry also appealed Belarus “to prevent the fulfillment of the criminal purposes regarding the deployment of nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus … [requested](https://thehill.com/policy/international/3918923-ukraine-calls-for-emergency-un-meeting-to-counter-russias-nuclear-blackmail/) an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council after Russia announced its plans to station nuclear weapons in Belarus, calling for the U.S. During an appearance on CBS’s “Face The Nation,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that there has been “no indication” of Russia moving nuclear weapons to Belarus. [ announced ](https://thehill.com/policy/international/putin-says-russia-will-station-tactical-nukes-in-belarus/)on Saturday that the Kremlin plans to station nuclear weapons in Belarus, drawing claims of “nuclear blackmail” from Ukraine and condemnation from the United States and NATO.