KIEV, UKRAINE (AP) – Ukraine’s government called an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Sunday to “counter the Kremlin’s nuclear blackmail” after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. bottom.
A Ukrainian official said Russia had “taken Belarus as a nuclear hostage”.
However, Moscow said it was taking the move in response to increased Western military support for Ukraine. Putin announced the plan in a television interview aired on Saturday, saying it was prompted by Britain’s decision last week to supply Ukraine with armor-piercing depleted uranium ammunition.
Putin has argued that Russia is following the US lead by deploying tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. He pointed out that Washington has nuclear weapons in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Holland and Turkey.
“We are doing what they have been doing for decades, stationing them in certain allied countries, preparing the launch platforms and training their crews,” he said.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry condemned the move in a statement Sunday and demanded an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council.
“Ukraine expects effective action to counter the Kremlin’s nuclear blackmail by the U.K., China, the U.S. and France, including as permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, which have a special responsibility to prevent threats of aggression using nuclear weapons,” the statement read. “The world must be united against someone who endangers the future of human civilization.”
Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, tweeted Sunday that Putin’s announcement was “a step towards internal destabilization” of Belarus that maximized “the level of negative perception and public rejection” of Russia and Putin in Belarusian society. The Kremlin, Danilov added, “took Belarus as a nuclear hostage.”
On Saturday, Putin argued that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has long asked to have nuclear weapons in his country again to counter NATO. Belarus shares borders with three NATO member states (Latvia, Lithuania and Poland), and on February 24, 2022, Russia sent troops to neighboring Ukraine, using Belarusian territory as a base.
Both Lukashenko’s support for the war and Putin’s plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus have been condemned by the Belarusian opposition.
Tactical nuclear weapons are intended for battlefield use and have a short range and low power compared to much more powerful nuclear warheads mounted on long-range missiles.Russia maintains control of those sent to Belarus. Putin said he plans to do so and plans to complete the construction of those storage facilities by July 1. Russia keeps its tactical nuclear weapons in special depots on its territory, and moving part of its arsenal to Belarusian depots will bring it closer to Russian planes and missiles already stationed there. It will increase its deployment in the Ukraine conflict.
The US said it would “monitor” the impact of Putin’s announcement. So far, Washington has “not seen any indication that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons,” said National Security Council spokeswoman Adrian Watson.
In Germany, the foreign ministry spoke of “further attempts at nuclear blackmail,” German news agency DPA reported late Saturday. “President Putin’s comparison to NATO’s nuclear engagement is misleading and cannot be used to justify the move announced by Russia,” the ministry said.
