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The border between Belarus and Ukraine is becoming the next crisis point in the Ukraine conflict. Belarus’ ruler Lukashenko is now threatening to be prepared to use nuclear weapons.
Kyiv/Moscow – The situation along the Ukrainian-Belarusian border has been put to the test in recent days. Most recently (29 June 2024), the Ukrainian Kyiv Independent, the situation on the border between Ukraine and Belarus is becoming “increasingly tense”. Ukraine rejected the accusation from Moscow that it is strengthening troops along its border with its close Russian ally.
Nevertheless, a necessary number of troops remain present there to prevent provocations. This is a Belarusian information operation supported by Russia, a spokesman for the border guards explained on Ukrainian television. Vladimir Putin had previously stated that the reports of reinforcements of Ukrainian troops on the border of the Russian ally were cause for concern.
Belarus threatens to use nuclear weapons in case of threat
Now Belarus is also reacting to the currently tense situation on the Russian-Ukrainian border – and once again threatened a nuclear disaster. The country is ready to use non-strategic nuclear weapons if its sovereignty and independence are threatened, said the Chief of the General Staff of the Belarusian Armed Forces, Pavel Muraveiko, in an interview with a local television station, as the state-run Belarusian news agency BelTA reported.
“We have learned how to handle these weapons. We know how to use them safely. We are capable of doing so. And you can be sure: we will do so if the sovereignty and independence of our country is threatened,” Muraweiko stressed.
The day before, Colonel Vadim Lukashevich, a Belarusian military official, said that neighboring Ukraine had moved its forces to the border in order to “draw our country into war,” as he was quoted by the US intelligence service Newsweek Lukashenko was referring to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine initiated by Russian President Putin on February 24, 2022.
Lukashenko: Belarusian military is “now ready to use special nuclear weapons”
“The situation on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border is characterized by escalating tensions,” Lukashevich said, adding that Ukrainian forces were planning potential sabotage and terrorist attacks on Belarusian soil. Belarus’ head of state Alexander Lukashenko has long been considered a close ally of Putin. Even after the start of the Ukraine war, which Russia launched from Belarusian territory, among other places, Belarus continued to maintain close relations with Russia.
Although Lukashenko’s troops are not directly involved in the Ukraine conflict, Russian forces were allowed to conduct exercises on Belarusian territory before the Ukraine war began. In January, Lukashenko announced that Russian nuclear weapons controlled by Moscow had arrived in Belarus. In April, Belarus’s ruler added that several dozen tactical nuclear weapons from Russia had been deployed in Belarus.
Just a few days ago (June 26, 2024), Lukashenko, in his familiar threatening style, spoke to the West with a new update on the situation of Belarusian nuclear weapons. After weeks of training with its ally Russia, the Belarusian armed forces are “now ready to use special nuclear weapons,” the Belarusian ruler emphasized. Recently, Belarus had also increased its troops on the border with Ukraine, as the daily News reported. (fh)
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