Transfer of Russian Nuclear Weapons to Belarus Begins: "Putin Can Use Them with a Single Call"

Alexander Lukashenko, President of Belarus, announced on the 13th (local time) that Belarus has begun to introduce Russian tactical nuclear weapons.

Vladimir Putin, President of Russia [Image source=Yonhap News]

According to foreign media including TASS on the 14th, President Lukashenko explained in an interview with a Russian state TV channel the day before that when asked, "Have you already received Russian tactical nuclear weapons?" he said, "Not all of them. We are receiving them sequentially."

He also claimed that the Russian tactical nuclear weapons deployed in Belarus are three times more powerful than the nuclear bombs the United States dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945. He said, "(In Japan) 80,000 people died instantly, and 250,000 died from one bomb," adding, "But our one bomb is three times more powerful. Probably one million people will die instantly." "Of course, I hope this weapon will not be used."

President Lukashenko stated, "They say this is a Russian nuclear weapon and that it cannot be used without Russian (approval), but if a war starts, I will immediately communicate with President Putin at any time," adding, "Coordinating the strike is not a problem," and "This has already been agreed upon."

"I think no one will try to wage war against a country that possesses nuclear weapons. This is a deterrent weapon," he added.

Russia and Belarus agreed in March to deploy Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, and since then, preparations for deployment by both countries have been underway.

In April, the Belarusian Ministry of Defense announced that the military unit dispatched to Russia received training on operating tactical nuclear weapons locally and returned. President Lukashenko visited Russia on the 9th and discussed the tactical nuclear weapon deployment plan in detail with President Putin.

The deployment of Russian nuclear weapons overseas is the first time in 27 years since 1996, when Russia completed the process of bringing back nuclear weapons deployed overseas after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.