President Vladimir Putin said Russia has delivered its first tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, three months after announcing the plan that threatens to ratchet up tensions with the US and its allies over the war in Ukraine.
"The first nuclear charges were delivered to the territory of Belarus. But only the first," Vladimir Putin said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday. "This is the first part. But by the end of the summer, by the end of the year, we will complete this work."
President Putin Says Russia to Place Tactical Nuclear Arms in Belarus
Vladimir Putin announced in March that Russia would base tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of its ally. He insisted Russia was meeting its non-proliferation obligations by retaining control of the weapons though it's trained Belarusian troops on the "storage and use of tactical special munitions."
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko suggested in an interview broadcast Wednesday that the weapons had already arrived in his country, though Mr Putin previously said delivery would only begin next month.
Asked at the forum about the potential use of nuclear weapons, President Putin said this would only happen if there is a threat to Russian statehood. He saw no such necessity now, he added.
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