On July 1, 2023, Russia will complete the construction of a tactical nuclear weapons storage facility on the territory of Belarus. About this Russian President Vladimir Putin reported in an interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin on the Russia 24 television channel.
“On July 1, we are completing the construction of a special storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus,” the head of state said.
According to Putin, all questions about the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in the republic, which were raised by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, “are being implemented”. “All of our agreements will take place in the very near future,” he said.
Putin stressed that Russia would place nuclear weapons only on the territory of Belarus, but not transfer them to the Belarusian side. According to the president, the United States is doing the same with its allies.
“We do not transfer (nuclear weapons), the United States does not transfer to its allies. We basically do everything they have done for decades. They have (nuclear charges) in some countries with the allies and their aircraft carriers are being prepared, and the crews are also preparing them. We will do the same,” Putin explained.
He noted that the reason for negotiations with Lukashenka on the issue of the deployment of nuclear weapons was the UK’s statement on the transfer of depleted uranium shells to Ukraine, because it is “one way or another related to nuclear technology”.
The Russian leader assured that when deploying nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus, Russia does not violate its obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
Also, as Putin said, Russia has helped re-equip 10 Belarusian Air Force aircraft, which are now capable of acting as tactical nuclear weapon carriers. According to the President, Minsk also received the Iskander missile system from Moscow, which allows the use of nuclear charges. “From April 3, we start training (Belarusian) crews,” Putin added.
In June 2022 Alexander Lukashenko address to Putin with a request for help in converting Belarusian military aircraft so that they can carry nuclear warheads. Then, the Belarusian president said he was “very concerned about the training flights of American and NATO aircraft, which are preparing to transport nuclear warheads and nuclear charges”. In response, the President of Russia insured that Moscow will hand over to Minsk the Iskander-M complexes, which can use both ballistic and cruise missiles. He also said that the Belarusian army is armed with a sufficiently large group of Su-25 aircraft to be able to carry nuclear warheads. In August, Lukashenko announced that Belarusian Su-line aircraft were capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
