WORLD NEWS | Why does Russia want tactical nukes in Belarus?

MOSCOW, March 27 (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his intention to deploy tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian soil in what appeared to be another attempt to raise the stakes in the conflict in Ukraine.

Earlier, Putin had warned Moscow was prepared to use “all available means” to defend against an attack on Russian territory, referring to its nuclear arsenal.

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Take a look at Putin’s statement and what it means:

How does Putin explain his actions?

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Putin said Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko had long urged Moscow to deploy nuclear weapons in his country, which has close military ties with Russia and is a staging ground for a Feb. 24, 2022, invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

Russia has helped modernize Belarusian warplanes to enable them to carry nuclear weapons — something Belarus’ authoritarian leaders have repeatedly said.

In speeches broadcast on Saturday, Putin said Russia’s deployment of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus was directly triggered by Britain’s decision to supply Ukraine with depleted uranium armor-piercing bombs.

Putin softened his tone after first falsely claiming that such munitions had a nuclear component, but insisted they posed an additional danger to civilians and could pollute the environment.

Putin also said that by deploying tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, Russia would emulate what the United States has done for decades by deploying nuclear weapons in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey.

He claimed that Russia’s move did not violate an international treaty prohibiting the proliferation of nuclear weapons, although Moscow has previously argued that the deployment of nuclear weapons by the United States on the territory of its NATO allies violates the treaty.

Putin’s move stood in stark contrast to a statement he and Chinese President Xi Jinping made following talks in the Kremlin last week against nuclear powers deploying atomic weapons outside their territory, in an apparent slam at the United States.

What are tactical nuclear weapons?

Tactical nuclear weapons are designed to destroy enemy forces and weapons on the battlefield. They have a relatively short range and much lower yield than nuclear warheads mounted on long-range strategic missiles capable of destroying entire cities.

Unlike strategic weapons, which are subject to arms control agreements between Moscow and Washington, tactical weapons have never been restricted by any such agreements, nor has Russia released any quantities or other relevant details in its arsenal.

The U.S. government believes Russia has about 2,000 tactical nuclear weapons, including aircraft-carryable bombs, short-range missile warheads and artillery shells.

While strategic nuclear weapons are mounted on land-based or submarine ICBMs ready to launch at any time, tactical nuclear weapons are stored in a number of heavily guarded storage facilities in Russia, and getting them to combat forces takes time.

Some Russian hawks have long urged the Kremlin to warn the West to move some tactical nuclear weapons closer to the aircraft and missiles used to launch them.

What exactly is Russia going to do?

Putin said Russia had helped upgrade 10 Belarusian planes to enable them to carry nuclear weapons and crews would begin training to use them from April 3. He noted that Russia has also provided Belarus with the Iskander short-range missile system, which can be armed with conventional or nuclear warheads.

He said that the construction of the nuclear weapons storage facility in Belarus will be completed by July 1. He did not say how many nuclear weapons would be stationed there or when they would be deployed.

Putin stressed that Russia would continue to control any nuclear weapons deployed in Belarus, just as the United States controls its tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of NATO allies.

If Moscow sends nuclear weapons to Belarus, it will mark the first time they have been deployed outside Russia since the early 1990s. After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan inherited large nuclear arsenals but agreed to ship them to Russia over the next few years.

What are the likely consequences of Putin’s move?

Putin’s latest statement again used nuclear threats to signal Moscow’s readiness to escalate the war in Ukraine.

Deploying tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, which shares a 1,084-kilometer (673-mile) border with Ukraine, would make it easier and faster for Russian planes and missiles to reach potential targets there if Moscow decides to use them. It would also expand Russia’s ability to target several NATO members in Eastern and Central Europe.

The move comes as Kiev prepares to launch a counteroffensive to retake territory held by Russia.

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, warned last week that Ukraine’s attempt to take back control of Crimea was a threat to the “existence of the Russian state”, which would require a nuclear response under the country’s security principles. In 2014, Russia illegally annexed Crimea from Ukraine.

“Every day that Western weapons are supplied to Ukraine, nuclear apocalypse is brought closer to us,” Medvedev said.

Ukrainian military analyst Olekhzhdanov said Putin’s goal was to prevent Ukraine’s Western allies from supplying Kiev with more weapons before any counteroffensive.

Zhdanov said that Putin “is using nuclear blackmail to influence the battlefield situation and force Western partners to reduce the supply of weapons and equipment under the threat of nuclear escalation.” threats, heightened tensions, and unnerved Ukrainians and their Western partners.”

What are Ukraine and the West talking about?

Ukraine responded to Putin’s move by calling for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.

“The world must unite against those who endanger the future of human civilization,” Ukraine’s foreign ministry said.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Monday that U.S. officials had “not seen any movement toward tactical nuclear weapons or similar weapons” since Putin’s statement on Belarus. He has said Washington does not see anything that could prompt a change in its strategic deterrence posture.

NATO dismissed Putin’s assertion that Russia was simply doing what the United States has been doing for decades, saying Western allies were behaving in full respect of their international commitments.

“Russia’s nuclear rhetoric is dangerous and irresponsible,” NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said, adding that the alliance had not seen any change in Russia’s nuclear posture.

Lithuania, which borders Belarus, described Putin’s announcements as “another attempt by two unpredictable authoritarian regimes to threaten their neighbors and the entire European continent”, calling them “a desperate move by Putin and Lukashenko to Europe creates another wave of tension and instability.” (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)