Belarusian state media quoted President Alexander Lukashenko as saying that Russian tactical nuclear weapons would be deployed in Belarus in “several days”.
Lukashenko said on Tuesday that Minsk was ready to receive the weapons, days after Russian President Vladimir Putin said the weapons would be deployed from July 7-8.
“Everything is ready. I think we will have what we asked for in a few days, and even a little more,” he said in remarks reported by the Belta news agency on Tuesday.
Lukashenko warned that he would not hesitate to use weapons to respond to potential attackers.
“Why do we need it? To ensure that no foreign soldier enters Belarusian soil again.
“God forbid that I decide to use these weapons. But he will not hesitate if we are attacked.”
This is the first time since the fall of the Soviet Union that Moscow has moved warheads out of the country.
Putin has described the war in Ukraine as a battle between Russian security and the broader North Atlantic Treaty Organization and said the West is funneling weapons into Ukraine in a proxy war with Moscow.
In March, he announced his decision to transfer weapons to Belarus, a launching pad for Moscow’s “special military operation”, citing the deployment of US weapons in European countries as justification.
While the US denounced the plan, it said it had no intention of changing its position on strategic nuclear weapons and saw no indication that Russia was preparing to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
Lukashenko said Minsk is also working to ensure that Belarusian facilities contain long-range strategic weapons. However, there was no urgency because Moscow had yet to talk about its arms supplies, he said.
What do I need strategically? [missiles] Like Topols l? Although we also prepare sites for these weapons. they [the Soviet-era sites] All safe and sound except for one. So if we need it, we can at any time [house them]Lukashenko was quoted by Belta as saying.
But Topol is an intercontinental missile. Do I intend to go to war with America? No, that’s why [tactical nuclear weapons] That’s enough for me now. »
The war in Ukraine has led to what Russia and the United States consider the most tense relationship since the Cold War.
