Putin Has Taken Belarus ‘Hostage’ With Russian Plans To Station Nuclear Weapons In The Country, Says Ukraine

Belarus

Russia has been accused of taking Belarus hostage after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans to store tactical nuclear weapons in its neighboring country. Oleksiy Daanilov, the head of Ukraine said on Twitter that the move was a step toward ‘International Destabilization of the Country’. The Kremlin took Belarus as a nuclear hostage he added. Mykhailo Podolyak, the adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, called the statement too predictable.

On Saturday, Putin announced on Russian state television that he planned to build a storage facility in Belarus to hold tactical nuclear weapons. He said the facility would be constructed by July. the Russian president said that there is nothing unusual about his announcement noting the US has long deployed its tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of their allied countries according to Reuters. He added that the act would not violate international nuclear non-proliferation agreements.

Belarus And Russia Have Been Long-time Allies

In response to Putin’s statement, the US said it would monitor the situation. The US Defense Department said to CNN about they have not seen any reason to adjust our own strategic nuclear posture. The former Soviet republic is generally seen as a Russian puppet state. The country shares a border with both Ukraine and Russia.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and his regime have backed Putin since the beginning of Russia’s prolonged invasion of Ukraine, as he allowed Russian troops to enter Ukraine over its border. Ukraine has called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council over Russia’s announcement that it would station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. Putin says the move was triggered by Britain’s decision to provide Ukraine with munitions containing depleted uranium.