“The Kremlin is holding Belarus as a nuclear hostage,” Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary General of the Ukrainian Security Council, wrote in a tweet, adding that this decision was “a step towards destabilizing the country.”
New development of the Russian-Ukrainian war
- President Vladimir Putin suddenly announced that Moscow will deploy tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, stressing that 10 fighters have already been sent to Minsk that can carry tactical nuclear weapons.
- The Russian president’s announcement of this step came amid the continuation of battles in eastern Ukraine, while Western reports say that the Russians are facing stumbling blocks and were unable to achieve the military goals as they wanted.
Russia’s motives
- The military specialist at the Ukrainian National Institute for Strategic Studies, Mosienko Matuzov, told Sky News Arabia that Russia has realized that a short-term military settlement will not take place in light of the constant pace of battles without achieving any noticeable progress for both sides.
- Matuzov added that since the beginning of the war, Belarus has been a starting point, training and equipment for the Russian forces fighting in Ukraine, stressing that Putin’s recent decision represents the last step towards Minsk entering the conflict directly in an attempt to resolve the intractable battles for Moscow and distract attention by opening a new front.
- Matuzov indicated that Moscow’s deployment of tactical nuclear weapons is also part of its plans to secure Crimea, given its fear of a Ukrainian counterattack.
Advantages of tactical nuclear weapons
- Tactical nuclear weapons are most often distinguished by their size or range or their use for limited military purposes without crushing an entire area and causing widespread radioactive fallout.
- Russia is preparing The first nuclear force In the world, with a stockpile of about 4,500 nuclear warheads, according to estimates by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
- The short-range tactical weapon comes with small nuclear warheads that support a guidance system and a powerful warhead.
- The range of tactical nuclear weapons is less than 500 km by land, and up to 600 km by air and sea.
- Tactical nuclear weapons are divided in terms of strength into two types, the first is more powerful than the bomb that fell on Hiroshima, and there are other weapons whose destructive power is no more than artillery fire.
- Tactical nuclear warheads can be loaded on different types of missiles that usually carry conventional warheads, such as cruise missiles and artillery shells.
- According For US intelligence, you have Russia About 2,000 tactical nuclear weapons.
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