Russian President Vladimir Putin said, on Friday, that Russia, which will retain control of tactical nuclear weapons, will start deploying these weapons in the territory of its close ally, Belarus, after completing the preparation of the facilities in which they will be placed on the seventh and eighth of July.
The deployment would be the first time Moscow has deployed such short-range warheads, which are less powerful and battlefield-usable nuclear weapons, outside of Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The United States, its allies, and China are watching the deployment closely. China has repeatedly warned against the use of nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war.
The Belta news agency quoted Lukashenko, a staunch Putin ally, as saying Belarus was now ready to host the warheads.
“Everything is ready,” Lukashenko said. “I imagine we will get what we asked for in a few days, even a little more.”
Putin announced in March that he had agreed to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, noting that the United States had deployed such weapons in several European countries several decades ago.
The United States criticized Putin’s decision, but said it had no intention of changing its position on strategic nuclear weapons and did not see any indications that Russia was preparing to use a nuclear weapon.
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