Putin, Announces Russian Tactical Nuclear Weapons Have Arrived In Belarus

Russian President Vladimir Putin  announced that Russia's tactical nuclear weapons are already in Belarus.

This news was confirmed by Putin at the Russian economic forum in St. Petersburg, Friday (6/16/2023).

Putin explained that the nuclear warheads that are already located on the territory of Belarus are the first part of Russia's deployment of tactical weapons.

He also claimed he would deploy another nuclear weapon to the country by the summer or the end of the year.

"As you know, we are negotiating with our ally, [Belarus President] Lukashenko, that we will deliver part of the nuclear weapons to the territory of Belarus - this has already been done," Putin said, as reported by Reuters.

"The first nuclear warheads have been delivered to the territory of Belarus. But only the first, the first part. We will fully carry out this work by the end of summer or the end of the year," he continued.

Reuters reported that the deployment of the warheads was the first outside Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union. The short-range nuclear has the potential to be used on the battlefield.

Putin said the deployment was carried out as a warning to Western countries that support and arm Ukraine. He claimed that the nuclear weapons, some of which were already in Belarus, were an element of deterrence as well as confirming Russia's position.

"Precisely as an element of deterrence so that all those who think they can inflict a strategic defeat on us do not ignore this situation," Putin said.

Meanwhile, the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin last week. He said the deployment was carried out after the special storage facilities had been prepared.

The decision to deploy and place Russian tactical weapons in Belarus was also announced several weeks earlier, namely last March. For this move, the United States has condemned Russia.

Belarus has previously received the Iskander-M tactical missile system. Mentioned, Iskander has an explosive range of up to 500 kilometers.

Belarus said the Sukhoi-25 aircraft had been adapted to carry the warhead. Sukhoi-25 jets have a range of up to 1,000 kilometers.

This means that if the weapon is launched from Belarus' main airbase outside Minsk, the missile could potentially reach almost all of Eastern Europe, including NATO member countries.

This is because Russia's ally country shares borders with three NATO member countries, namely Lithuania, Latvia and Poland.