Russian President, Vladimir Putin, announced last Saturday that Moscow is going to station nuclear weapons on Belarusian soil.

Tactical nuclear weapons differ from strategic ones in that they have less power and a shorter range. In other words, they can’t wipe out entire cities, but that doesn’t mean they can’t cause massive destruction.

According to what has been announced by the Russian side, Moscow and Minsk have concluded an agreement that paves the way for sending Russian tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus.

The timing of this mission has not yet been fully clarified. Preparations for the deployment of these weapons are reportedly set to begin next month, with the prospect of the said facilities being ready by early next July.

Vladimir Putin, for his part, argues that Moscow has the right to send tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus because the Americans have also stationed similar weapons in six NATO countries. The Russian leader also maintains that Moscow is not in breach of its nuclear non-proliferation obligations because it will retain control of those weapons.

In his attempt to justify this move, he claims that the relevant decision was made after the announcement that the US and the UK are going to send anti-tank missiles made of depleted uranium to Ukraine.

Minsk, for its part, considers the actions of the West as direct and blatant interference in the internal affairs of an independent state.

In fact, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus said today that it was forced to host Russian nuclear weapons on its territory due to the aggressive actions of NATO countries, which threaten the security of Belarus, according to the Tass agency.

Minsk also stressed that plans, announced at the weekend by Russian President Vladimir Putin, to place Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus would not run afoul of international nuclear non-proliferation agreements as Belarus would not have control of the weapons.

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