Its president Russia’s Vladimir Putin announced in March plan for development of tactical nuclear weapons on its territory Belarus. It is the first time Moscow has moved such weapons outside Russian territory since 1991 and the fall of the Soviet Union.

What is known about the venture?

WHAT DID PUTIN SAY?

The development of nuclear weapons is Putin’s signal to the West that he will not back down in the war in Ukraine.

Putin made the announcement incidentally during an interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin, a correspondent for state-run Kremlin television, posted on Telegram on March 25.

He clarified that what prompted the decision to develop tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus was Britain’s announcement that it would supply Ukraine with depleted uranium munitions. The Wall Street Journal published on June 13 the information that the United States also intended to approve the supply of depleted uranium ammunition to Ukraine.

Minsk announced that the decision was a response to the West’s “aggressive policy” and aimed to force Western leaders to think before escalating.

WHAT WEAPONS WILL BE DEVELOPED AND WHERE?

Putin stated that tactical nuclear weapons (or theater nuclear weapons) would be sent to Belarus, but did not specify exactly which warheads would be deployed there and where.

Lukashenko said the nuclear warheads are three times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The Hiroshima bomb, made of highly enriched uranium-235, had a yield of 16 kilotons (equivalent to 16,000 tons of TNT), while the Nagasaki bomb, made of plutonium-239, had a yield of 21 kilotons, according to the World Nuclear Association.

If Lukashenko’s statement is accurate, the Russian warheads will each have a yield of 48 to 63 kilotons. Russia has about 1,816 non-strategic nuclear warheads, according to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists’ analysis of Russia’s nuclear arsenal.

Putin has said that mobile, short-range Iskander ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads have already been delivered to Belarus. According to Russian sources, the Iskanders have a range of 500 kilometers.

Putin has also said that 10 Belarusian aircraft have been modified to be capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Belarus has clarified that Su-25 aircraft have undergone the necessary conversions to carry warheads. The Sukhoi-25 has a range of up to 1,000 kilometers, according to Russian sources.

According to the Federation of American Scientists, tactical nuclear weapons are likely to be stored at the Linda Air Base, 40 kilometers from the border with Lithuania.

If this is the case, the carriers of the nuclear warheads could potentially have a range covering almost all of Ukraine and almost all of Eastern Europe, i.e. the Baltic States, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic , Romania, part of Germany, as well as Denmark, Sweden and Finland. Cities such as Berlin and Stockholm are also within range.

NEVER;

Putin has stated that Russia will complete construction of a special storage facility in Belarus on July 7-8, and tactical nuclear weapons will be deployed there soon after.

But, Lukashenko has stated otherwise. Last month he hinted that tactical nuclear weapons were already being transferred, and on June 13 he said the weapons would be transferred in “a few days.”

He also said there would be “nuclear weapons for everyone” who join the Russia-Belarus union. In a video released today, Lukashenko said his country has begun receiving Russian tactical nuclear weapons.

WHO’S IN CONTROL?

Putin has said that arms control should be maintained by Russia, as the United States does with US tactical nuclear weapons located in Europe.

The United States has deployed nuclear weapons at NATO bases in Europe since the 1950s.

Putin has repeatedly expressed concern about the roughly 200 US tactical B61 nuclear warheads at bases in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Turkey.

These US warheads are stored in caches at air bases, and the United States maintains the Permissive Action Link (PAL) codes for their weapons.

Russia’s nuclear arsenal is controlled and transferred by the Russian Ministry of Defense’s 12th Main Directorate (12th GUMO).

NUCLEAR DANGERS

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the United States went to great lengths to ensure that Soviet nuclear weapons stored in Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan returned to Russia, which inherited the Soviet nuclear arsenal.

By putting nuclear weapons back in Belarus, Putin is showing that the post-Cold War status quo of nuclear arms control is faltering.

WHAT WILL BE THE RESPONSE OF THE USA AND NATO?

The United States has criticized Putin’s plans to develop nuclear weapons in Belarus, but has said it has no intention of changing its stance on strategic nuclear weapons and that there is no indication that Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon. weapon.

The State Department announced on March 27 that it was condemning the announcement of Belarus’ plan to develop tactical nuclear weapons. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on April 18 that Putin’s decision was irresponsible.