Russia has moved forward with plans to deploy strategic nuclear missiles in Belarus. The warhead is already on its way to deployment, the leader of Belarus said.
This is the first time the Kremlin has deployed such a bomb outside Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus on state TV on March 25.
Then last Thursday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Belarus Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin signed an agreement on the deployment of strategic nuclear weapons.
According to the directive signed by Putin, strategic nuclear weapons are already on the way to be deployed, said the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko. However, there is no confirmation from the Kremlin.
Russia comments that such steps are being taken due to increasing tensions with Western countries.
According to the Ministry of Defense of Russia, in a meeting with the Minister of Defense of the country in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, Russian Defense Minister Shoigu said, “Western countries are collectively waging an undeclared war against our countries.”
Shoigu commented that the West is doing everything possible to prolong the armed conflict in Ukraine.
Belarus President Lukashenko told reporters in Moscow that the deployment of nuclear weapons had already begun. Asked if the weapons had already gone to Belarus, he said, “Probably. I will look into the matter when I go.”