Russia will place tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus near its allies’ borders with NATO countries, the Russian envoy to Minsk said, in a move aimed at increasing tensions with the West.
The Russian ambassador to Belarus, Boris Gryzlov, said Sunday night that the weapons would be moved to the country’s western border as part of measures to “ensure security.”
“This will be done despite the noise in Europe and the United States,” Gryzlov told Belarusian state television.
Gryzlov said a storage facility would be completed by July 1 without specifying exactly where the weapons would be stationed.
The envoy’s comments came after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus last month.
Belarus borders Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland, all members of NATO, the military alliance originally established to stop Soviet expansion into Europe after World War II.
NATO has increased the number of its troops stationed in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland by nearly tenfold since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year.
On Friday, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, one of Putin’s closest allies, said that some of Russia’s strategic nuclear weapons might be deployed on his country’s territory along with a position in Russia’s tactical nuclear arsenal.
Tactical nuclear weapons have a shorter range and lower yield than strategic nuclear weapons and are designed to carry out limited attacks on the battlefield.
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