At a bilateral meeting in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, the Defense Minister of Russia, Sergei Shoigu and his Belarusian counterpart, Viktor Khrenin, signed documents which outline the procedure for storing Russian non-strategic nuclear weapons in a specialized facility in Belarus, Ukraine’s northern neighbor.
The act formalized the deal agreed on earlier by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Putin previously announced in March that his country planned to deploy tactical, comparatively short-range and small-yield nuclear weapons in Belarus.
Both Russian and Belarusian officials framed the step as driven by hostility from the West.
“Deployment of nonstrategic nuclear weapons is an effective response to the aggressive policy of countries unfriendly to us,” Belarusian Defense Minister, Viktor Khrenin averred.
Russia’s Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu echoed this stance by saying, “In the context of an extremely sharp escalation of threats on the western borders of Russia and Belarus, a decision was made to take countermeasures in the military-nuclear sphere.”
Belarus’s Ministry of Defense said the agreement refers to a “special storage facility on the territory of the Republic of Belarus.” No detail was announced regarding when the weapons would be deployed in Belarus, however, Putin previously said that the construction of storage facilities for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus would be completed by July 1, 2023.
Additionally, Shoigu disclosed that the Belarusian side received the Iskander-M operational-tactical missile system, capable of using missiles not only in conventional but also in nuclear equipment. “Part of the Belarusian aircraft has been converted for the possible use of nuclear weapons. The servicemen have undergone appropriate training,” Shoigu added.
According to the Belarusian press service, Khrenin told Shoigu that “The Republic of Belarus is interested in the further development of strategic allied relations with the Russian Federation in the military sphere.”
Belarus has been one of Russia’s most loyal allies since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine last year.
While President Alexander Lukashenko has claimed there is “no way” his country would send troops into Ukraine unless it is attacked, Belarus has been willing to provide other means of support to Moscow.
Lukashenko raised the possibility of Russia placing strategic nuclear weapons in Belarus during a national address in March, while baselessly accusing Western countries of “preparing to invade” Belarus and “destroy” it.
Ukraine Forced To Show Success
Meanwhile, according to Russia’s state news agency, Shoigu stated that the West, by pumping Kyiv with weapons, is forcing Ukraine to show success on the battlefield, which only drags out the conflict.
Speaking at a meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) Defense Ministers in Belarus, Shoigu remarked, “The most tense situation today has developed in the Eastern European region. The West is forcing the Kyiv regime, regardless of losses, to demonstrate tactical successes and readiness to fight” to the last Ukrainian, pumping him up with weapons.
Military-technical assistance to Kyiv has already exceeded $65bn,” Shoigu said. He added that the US and its allies were causing tension near the borders of member states.
Russia and Belarus have an alliance agreement under which the Kremlin subsidizes the Belarusian economy, via loans and discounted Russian oil and gas.
Russia used Belarusian territory as a staging ground for invading neighboring Ukraine and has maintained a contingent of troops and weapons there.
