Russia to Deploy “Tactical Nuclear Weapons” in Belarus, Putin Says
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that Moscow will deploy “tactical nuclear weapons” in Belarus, raising tensions between Russia and the West. Putin said that 10 fighter jets equipped with nuclear weapons had already been deployed in Belarus and that Russia would be deploying Iskander hypersonic missiles – with a range of around 300 miles – to the country as well.
The announcement is another escalation in the growing tensions between Russia and the West regarding Putin’s campaign against Ukraine. NATO publicly denounced Russia’s escalation of nuclear weapons in Belarus as “dangerous and irresponsible” and said that they had not seen anything that would cause them to change their own stance on the matter. The Biden administration also weighed in, saying that they had seen nothing that would indicate that Putin was “preparing to use tactical nuclear weapons in any way whatsoever in Ukraine”.
Nevertheless, Putin argues that the move is merely him doing what the U.S. and NATO have done for years – with the U.S.-allied organization having its own nuclear-armed missiles deployed in many places. Ukraine’s national security chief Oleksiy Danilov views the move as Russia taking its ally Belarus “hostage” and Ukraine has called for a meeting of the United Nations Security Council from this issue.
The Biden administration has been set on attempting to reset relations between the U.S. and Russia since the former took office. The administration has called for an extension of the New START agreement – an arrangement signed by President Obama and his Russian counterpart that was set to expire in 2021 – and is also reportedly considering easing sanctions on Russia for election interference and its annexation of Crimea. It is unclear how this latest move from Putin will affect the reset efforts from the Biden administration.
The Biden administration has made a statement that they are not only “trying to reset but [are] also looking to deter Russia’s bad behaviour”. It remains to be seen how this latest move from the Russian president will influence Biden’s ongoing efforts.
Additionally, there is the matter of the company and person mentioned in this article to consider. The person is Russian President Vladimir Putin and, through his announcement, is ratcheting up tensions between Russia and the West with his plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
The company mentioned in the article is NATO, whose spokesperson Oana Lungescu denounced the action as “dangerous and irresponsible”. NATO has deployed its own nuclear-armed missiles in many places throughout Europe and Lungescu said that the alliance had not seen anything that would cause them to adjust their own stance.
It is clear from this announcement from the Russian president that both Russia and the West remain deeply at odds regarding the current situation in Ukraine. While both sides seem to be escalating their positions, one can only hope that cooler heads prevail and a resolution is achieved without nuclear weapons having to come into play.
