The possibility of Russia sending nuclear weapons to Belarus is already a reality.
President Vladimir Putin announced this Friday that Moscow already has a first batch of tactical nuclear weapons stationed in the neighboring country.
Minsk is a key ally of Moscow and served as the launching pad for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the Russian president indicated that the weapons will only be used if the Russian state or territory becomes threatened.
Answering questions after a speech, Putin said that andthis is a measure of “containment” and which serves as a reminder for anyone who “thinks of inflicting a strategic defeat on us”.
Tactical nuclear warheads are less powerful than much of the rest of Russia’s nuclear arsenal. Putin said the transfer would be completed by the end of the summer.
When the forum moderator asked him about the possibility of using such weapons, the president replied: “Why should we threaten the entire world? I already said that the use of extreme measures is possible in case there is danger to the Russian state.”
The US government says that there is no indication that the Kremlin plans to use nuclear weapons to attack Ukraine.
“We don’t see any indication that Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said after Putin’s comments.
African leaders and bombs over Kyiv
The Russian leader will meet several African leaders in St. Petersburg after they visited Kyiv on Friday as part of a peace initiative being presented to both countries.
However, while they were in the Ukrainian capital, it was attacked with Russian missiles.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called for de-escalation on both sides and peace negotiations.
“We came here to listen and acknowledge what the people of Ukraine have been through,” he said.
But the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that instead of making diplomatic overtures to Russia, they should freeze their diplomatic relations. to send a message that the international community condemns their invasion.
Zelensky said that Kyiv would not enter into negotiations with Moscow while it was still occupying Ukrainian territory.
In his appearance at the economic forum, Putin dismissed the chances of Ukraine succeeding in its counteroffensive.
He stated that Ukraine is running out of weapons of its own and will soon be completely dependent on weapons donated by the West.
“He can’t fight long like that”he said, warning that any F-16 fighter Ukraine receives “is going to burn, there’s no question about it.”
Ukraine has dismissed previous similar statements from Moscow and has assured that they are making progress in the recovery of territory both in the east and in the south of the country.
Putin also spoke of economic issues, assuring that sanctions against Russia They have achieved isolate the country and that, instead, they have led to an expansion of their trade with “the markets of the future”.
He praised the new agreements with countries in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, calling them “reliable and responsible partners.”
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