Moscow has started moving nuclear weapons into Belarusian territory, in response to what it called a “sharp escalation” on its western border.
Announcing a long-awaited weapons agreement in Minsk, Sergei Shoigu, the Russian defence minister, said it was the result of “extremely aggressive” Nato military activity.
“Today, together, we are confronting the collective West, which is actually waging an undeclared war against our countries,” Shoigu said.
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Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, confirmed that the “transfer of nuclear munitions has begun”, admitting that it was “possible” the weapons had already arrived. He added that they were “non-strategic” nuclear weapons, rather than longer-range and higher-yield bombs.
The agreement allows Moscow to store warheads at a special facility in Belarus, noted DW. The deal also states that Russia will maintain control of the weapons, formalising an earlier agreement between the allies.
The move “has been met with widespread backlash by the West”, said The Moscow Times, with the European Union “threatening new sanctions on Belarus should Minsk agree to host Russian nuclear weapons”.
The United States has “strongly condemned” the deal, reported France 24. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller described it as “the latest example of irresponsible behaviour that we have seen from Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine over a year ago”. However, he added that Washington has not seen any indications that Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon.
In March, the prospect of Russia moving nuclear arms to Belarus was dismissed as a “bluff”. Putin’s “suggestion that Russia would start storing its bombs in Belarus may add up to less than it appears”, said The Guardian. “As usual with Putin, the world should read the fine print and check the context,” agreed CNN.
