According to the Russian president, once storage facilities are ready, delivery of the weapons will start right away.
According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who met with his Belarusian counterpart on Friday, the deployment of Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus will start as soon as the necessary adaptation work at the relevant storage facilities is finished, which is likely to be in the first week of July.
The preparation of the necessary facilities will be finished on July 7-8, and we will then start taking steps to deploy the necessary types of weapons on your territory, Putin assured President Alexander Lukashenko. “Everything is going according to plan,” he added.
Putin had previously said that he and Lukashenko would talk “face to face” about urgent security matters on Friday during a casual meeting in Sochi, which will include a portion open to the media.
In general, the president said, “the situation is stable; in fact, I’d say it’s good. Our collaboration in this area is assured.
Lukashenko was informed by Putin that there was always something to discuss before the open portion of the negotiations came to an end. We will carry out that today.
Putin stated in late March that in retaliation for the UK’s decision to give Kiev depleted uranium ammunition, Russia would station its tactical weapons in Belarus. Uranium shells are “a common munition,” according to the US and UK, and “have been in use for decades.” Meanwhile, Lukashenko has brought up the dangers that the US’s nuclear weapons deployment in EU nations poses to his country on numerous occasions.
The move has drawn condemnation from Washington and its allies in Europe, who have threatened to impose sanctions unless Minsk refuses to host Russian tactical weapons. They have called the action a “irresponsible escalation and a threat to European security.”
Moscow has downplayed the backlash, claiming that the West is “prone to hysterical reaction,” and that Russia’s actions are not significantly different from those of the US. Furthermore, it emphasized that Moscow would continue to maintain control of the munitions and that Minsk would not be able to use them independently.
