Vladimir Putin came under fire from the transatlantic military alliance, NATO, as he revealed plans to install tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus’ neighbor.
Insisting that Russia wouldn’t go back on its commitment to nuclear non-proliferation, Putin compared his intention to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus to the US stationing its weapons in Europe.
The action is one of Russia’s most overt nuclear signals to date and a warning to NATO over its military backing of Ukraine. In response, Ukraine has requested a meeting of the U.N. Security Council.
Russian nuclear language is reckless and dangerous, according to NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu, who made the statement on March 26.
“NATO is on guard, and we are keeping a careful eye on the situation. There haven’t been any modifications to Russia’s nuclear strategy that would prompt us to amend our own.
Putin’s commitment to prevent nuclear proliferation and his assessment of the American military’s abroad deployment, according to Lungescu, were completely inaccurate.
“The mention of NATO nuclear sharing by Russia is completely false. Allies of NATO uphold their international obligations in full, she said in a statement.
“Russia has repeatedly breached its obligations to armaments control.”
Oleksiy Danilov, head of security for Ukraine, claimed that Russia’s strategy would destabilize Belarus, which he claimed Moscow had taken “hostage.”
Since Belarus and Russia have strong military links, Minsk permitted Moscow to use Belarus as a staging area for its invasion of Ukraine in 2014.
As a nuclear superpower as well, the United States downplayed worries regarding Russia’s intended deployment.
According to John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, “we have seen nothing that would indicate Mr. Putin is ready to employ tactical nuclear weapons in any form whatsoever in Ukraine.”
I can also say that we haven’t observed anything that would prompt us to alter our position regarding our strategic nuclear deterrent.
Instead of being able to completely destroy cities, tactical nuclear weapons are ones that are employed to achieve specific objectives on the battlefield.
