Putin rebuked for planning to station Russian nuclear weapons in their common neighbour
People attend the Sunday service of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church at a compound in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 26 2023. Picture: ROMAN PILIPEY/GETTY IMAGES
Oleksiy Danilov, head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, called it “a step towards internal destabilisation of the country”, adding that it maximises what he called the level of “negative perception and public rejection” of Russia and Putin in Belarusian society.Putin likened his plans to the US stationing its weapons in Europe, and said Russia will not be transferring control of the weapons to Belarus.
“Making a statement about tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, he admits that he is afraid of losing & all he can do is scare with tactics,” Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted.Washington played down concerns about Putin’s announcement and the potential for Moscow to use nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine. Analysts at the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said on Saturday the risk of escalation to nuclear war “remains extremely low. ISW continues to assess that Putin is a risk-averse actor who repeatedly threatens to use nuclear weapons without any intention of following through,” it wrote.
While the Belarusian army has not formally fought in Ukraine, Minsk and Moscow have a close military relationship. Minsk allowed Moscow to use Belarusian territory to send troops into Ukraine in 2022 and the two nations stepped up joint military training.
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