Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said most of the tactical nuclear weapons Russia plans to deploy in the country have already arrived.
“In terms of nuclear weapons, most have already been brought to Belarus. I won’t say how many. It’s surprising that they didn’t track him down,” Lukashenko was quoted as saying by Belarusian state media.
He denied that Wagner Group troops are being used to protect the weapons, saying: “Russians and Belarusians are guarding. No Wagner Group fighters will protect nuclear weapons. This is our task.”
Last Tuesday (20), Lukashenko stated that the leader of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, had arrived in Belarus.
Earlier this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus.
Putin said Moscow would complete construction of a special tactical nuclear weapons storage facility in the neighboring country by early July.
He added that Russia had already transferred an Iskander short-range missile system, a device that can be equipped with nuclear or conventional warheads, to Belarus.
Prior to the nuclear deal, Belarus had not had nuclear weapons on its territory since the early 1990s. Shortly after gaining independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union, it agreed to transfer all Soviet-era weapons of mass destruction stationed there to the Russia.
Since invading Ukraine more than a year ago, Putin has used increased rhetoric on several occasions, warning of the “rising” threat of nuclear war and suggesting that Moscow might abandon its “no use first” policy.
Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Biden administration is closely monitoring the situation between Russia and Belarus after Putin claimed Moscow had deployed tactical nuclear weapons in the neighboring country.
He said the US “has no reason to adjust” its nuclear posture and does not “see any indication” that Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon.
Source: CNN Brasil
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