President Vladimir Putin told Rossiya 24 on Sunday that Russia plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
Putin’s Comments
“From 3 April, we start training crews. And on 1 July, we are finishing the construction of a special storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus,” Putin said. He insisted that the nuclear weapons would be deployed without violating Moscow’s global commitments.
Vladimir Putin is equating Russia's deploying of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus to US deployment of nukes in NATO member states
— Samuel Ramani (@SamRamani2) March 26, 2023
Germany is a party to NATO's nuclear weapons sharing agreement but has fiercely condemned Russia's move
Putin asserted that the move was in retaliation to the UK’s decision to supply Ukraine with depleted uranium. Furthermore, he said the move is meant to fulfil Belarus’s request to deploy Russian nuclear weapons on its territory.
Differences Over Impact of Depleted Uranium
The British defence ministry announced last week that it would send Ukraine armour-piercing munitions containing depleted uranium, noting that such shells are not capable of generating a nuclear reaction.
Further, RAND Nuclear Expert Edward Geist has clarified that the rounds cannot generate a nuclear reaction, but that the depleted uranium is “so dense and it’s got so much momentum that it keeps going through the armour — and it heats up so much that it catches on fire.”
However, Russia has claimed otherwise, arguing that depleted uranium munitions can trigger a nuclear explosion.
Just days ago, Putin and Xi released a joint statement which said: "All nuclear-weapon states should refrain from deploying nuclear weapons abroad and withdraw nuclear weapons deployed abroad."
— Michael McFaul (@McFaul) March 27, 2023
Putin then did the opposite yesterday.
Not very respectful to his "good friend" Xi!
The Russian president also alleged that using depleted uranium shells would produce extremely toxic radioactive active dust, which would pollute the ground. Noting that this dust cannot be decontaminated, Putin warned that using such munitions could lead to a sudden increase in cancer rates.
Countering the US
Moreover, Putin stressed that Russia is not the first to send nuclear weapons to an ally. “We are doing everything that [the US has] been doing for decades. They have allies in certain countries and their carriers are trained, their crews are trained. We are going to do the same. This is exactly what [Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko] asked for,” he emphasised.