Amid fears of an escalation of the war in Ukraine, by deploying these weapons in Belarus, located on the doorstep of the European Union, Britain on Thursday imposed a new package of sanctions against Minsk, banning the export of goods and technology to which could be used to manufacture biological and chemical weapons.
According to Reuters, the new package also includes a ban on importing gold, cement, timber and rubber from Belarus and a ban on exporting banknotes and machinery to that country.
Experts who spoke to “Sky News Arabia” attributed Moscow’s deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in the territory of its ally, Minsk, to 4 reasons, namely: the Kremlin’s efforts to undermine Western military support for Ukraine and to highlight the maps of nuclear energy while balancing the military situation against the “NATO” armed forces stationed on the borders of Belarus in Poland, as well as responding to Western provocations.
Russia’s measures foresee that the NATO summit next July will be hosted by neighboring Lithuania, a country located in the Baltic region.
Dangerous development
And the American site “IOL” estimated that it would be the first time that the warheads of Moscow would be placed outside the borders of Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union.
As for the British newspaper The Guardian, it described the decision as a dangerous development in the Kremlin’s position.
Tactical nuclear weapons can be launched via Iskander missiles or via “Su-25” aircraft, which are at the disposal of Belarus. This step comes at a time when Russia is preparing for dangerous developments on the battlefield represented by the Ukrainian counterattack.
As for the French magazine Le Point, it declared that these weapons are the smallest atomic bomb in the Russian nuclear arsenal.
Its placement in Belarus is similar to the stockpiling of similar US bombs in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Turkey and Italy, and they are controlled by Washington. Their use can quickly upset the balance of war.
Regarding the use of tactical nuclear weapons, Russian military expert Alexei Sokonkin claims that they are used to destroy transport axes, infantry musters, military equipment and vehicles.
The destructive power of a tactical nuclear weapon is equivalent to 200 to 300 tons of TNT explosive. These weapons are useful for destroying columns of tanks, armored vehicles, bridges and large concentrations of infantry.
These weapons will remain under Russian command, according to the Kremlin, whose decision has drawn criticism from the international community, especially Western countries.
And last April, Russia began training the Belarusian army to use “tactical” nuclear weapons, and Putin announced that 10 planes had been equipped in Belarus to use similar weapons.
Escalation or rebalancing?
The move was preceded by Moscow suspending its participation in the “New START” treaty with the United States of America regarding the reduction of nuclear weapons, which does not specify the number of smaller tactical weapons.
And the Russian expert, Vladimir Igor, considered that the Russian nuclear movements towards Belarus are under the control of the Russian forces.
It is a response to what the United States did in 2010 by deploying a hundred nuclear bombs in countries surrounding Russia from all directions. Russia’s move would restore the balance of the war and send messages to NATO that it cannot remain silent about its threat to Moscow’s national security
Respond to NATO provocations
As for the military expert, Michael Fino, he says that the agreements between Moscow and Minsk on the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus are logical.
I think Russia’s decision to supply tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus is a retaliation for Britain’s decision to supply Ukraine with uranium munitions. The Western reaction to this plan is the policy of “double standard”. NATO, led by the United States, has deployed nuclear warheads in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy.
For his part, political scientist Kirill Kokesh estimated that Russia, by deploying tactical nuclear weapons, is responding to NATO’s repeated provocations since the war in Ukraine.
The deployment of its weapons by Russia in Belarus is directly linked to the Ukrainian war. Without the escalation of the West and the stationing of “NATO” forces on the Belarusian borders in Poland, Russia would not have resorted to this measure, according to the Russian agency “TASS”. Tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus balance the military situation between NATO and Russia, and would deter Ukraine, Poland and Finland, which are planning a NATO summit in Vilnius in mid-July.
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