TALLINN: Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons will be deployed nearer to Belarus’ borders with NATO neighbors, the Russian envoy to Belarus said Sunday. The move comes as tension between Russia and Western countries over Moscow’s war in Ukraine continue to simmer.
Ambassador Boris Gryzlov’s comment comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent announcement about plans to station tactical N-weapons on the territory of Russia’s neighbor and ally.
Putin has stated that building storage facilities for the tactical nukes in Belarus will be complete by July 1 and further said that Russia has aided in the modernization of Belarusian military planes to make them capable of carrying N-weapons.
The two neighbors have a pact envisioning close political, economic, and military ties. Russia used Belarus’ territory as a staging ground for the invasion of Ukraine and has maintained a contingent of armed forces and weapons there.
Gryzlov, made the remarks broadcast late Sunday by Belarusian state TV, said the Russian N-weapons will be moved nearer to the Western border of our union state without giving a specific location.
This would expand our defense capability, and would be done regardless of all the noise in US and Europe US, he said.
Belarus shares a 1,250-kilometer border with Latvia, Lithuania and Poland – all Nato members.
Tactical nukes, which are intended to destroy enemy troops and weapons on the battlefield, as compared to nuclear warheads have a relatively short range and a much lower yield. The warheads that are fitted to long-range strategic missiles are capable of wiping out whole cities.
Deployment of nukes on Belarus’ western border
The deployment of Russian tactical N-weapons to Belarus would put them nearer to potential targets in Ukraine and NATO members in Central and Eastern Europe.
Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko said Friday that a number of Russia’s strategic N-weapons might be deployed to Belarus as well as a part of Russia’s tactical N-arsenal.
