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Belarus Says It's Checking Preparedness Of Its Tactical Nuclear Forces
By RFE/RL's Belarus Service May 07, 2024
The Belarusian Defense Ministry said on May 7 that it had started to check the preparedness of it tactical nuclear forces, a day after Russia announced a similar move.
First Deputy Defense Minister Viktar Hulevich said some Belarusian armed forces and aircraft will be redeployed to a reserve airfield during the exercises.
Belarusian Defense Minister Viktar Khrenin said the checks for preparedness of the carriers of the tactical nuclear weapons started at the order of authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
"To carry out the task, a division of the operative-tactical Iskander missile complex and a utility squadron of SU-25 military planes have been allocated," Khrenin said.
Lukashenka supported Russia's ongoing unprovoked invasion of Ukraine launched in February 2022 and allowed Russian armed forces to use Belarusian territory, military infrastructure, and airspace during the invasion.
A day before the announcement from Minsk, Russia's Defense Ministry announced drills involving tactical nuclear weapons for the first time since it launched its aggression against Ukraine more than two years ago.
Russia said it was running the military exercises because of "unprecedented" and "provocative" statements from Britain and France that Moscow said showed their growing involvement in the war in Ukraine.
Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron repeated a statement that his country cannot rule out sending troops into Ukraine to help it in the war.
Meanwhile, officials in the United Kingdom last week appeared to give Kyiv the green light to use long-range weapons sent to Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia. So far in the conflict, the U.K. has given guidance to Ukraine implying that long-range weapons should only be used within sovereign Ukrainian territory.
Ukraine has been subjected to almost daily Russian missile and drone strikes that have caused huge damage to its civilian and energy infrastructure and killed and wounded numerous civilians, including children.
In response, Kyiv has targeted energy infrastructure inside Russia, especially oil refining installations.
Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/belarus-nuclear-weapons-russia- ukraine/32936784.html
Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
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