Vladimir Putin confirmed today during his speech at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum today that Russia delivered its first tactical nukes weapons in Belarus and emphasized that Russia could “theoretically” use nukes weapons if its territorial integrity or existence were threatened, but it need not do so.

“We were discussing it with President Lukashenko… we were discussing then that parts of these weapons should be transferred to Belarus and that has already been done. They will have been moved there by the end of the summer and (by) the end of the year this will all be completed. But this is a deterrent measure” he said characteristically and added:

“Nuclear weapons were built to ensure our security in the broadest sense of the term and the existence of the Russian state, but we… have no such need (to use them)’ Putin said and emphasized that he declined to pursue the issue further, asking the meeting’s host: “Do you want me to scare the whole world? No, I don’t want it.”

The Russian president also said the Russian military could destroy parts of central Kiev but has chosen not to for several reasons. However, he did not specify the reasons.

The attacks on Russia’s border territories were an attempt to distract Moscow’s forces from other fronts, he said.

Russian and Belarusian military officials signed an agreement in May that provides for Moscow to routinely deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus.

The plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons on foreign soil is Russia’s first since 1991. The Kremlin has defended the decision, saying it is being provoked by Western powers backing Ukraine.