Lukashenka Threatens to Bring Strategic Nuclear Weapons from Russia

Self-proclaimed Belarus' president, Alexander Lukashenka, in his address to the nation on Friday spoke about the stationing of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

As BelTA reports, in his annual address, Lukashenka first recalled the agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, for which, he said, "the entire infrastructure is created and ready."

"If necessary, Putin and I will decide and bring in strategic weapons - if needed. I am not trying to intimidate or blackmail anyone. I want to safeguard the Belarusian state and ensure peace for the Belarusian people," added the self-proclaimed president of Belarus.

He added that, in his opinion, nuclear weapons in Belarus will force "all overseas hawks and their satellites" to reckon with "our people, if they do not understand another language."

Strategic nuclear weapons are a conventional name for nuclear weapons with an intercontinental radius of destruction. Its carriers are intercontinental cruise and ballistic missiles and strategic bombers.

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighbouring Belarus by July and compared his own nuclear plans with the US deployment (Ukr) of its weapons in Europe. He insisted that Russia would not break its nuclear non-proliferation promises.

In Belarus, they believe that placing Russian nuclear warheads on its territory without handing control over them to Minsk does not contradict international law (Ukr), and point to a similar practice by NATO.