Russia: Putin Confirms First Nuclear Weapons Moved To Belarus In Major Escalation

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said that Moscow has sent its first batch of nuclear weapons to Belarus, The Hill reported. Addressing the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin said that the rest of the nuclear weapons should be delivered by the end of the summer. Russia moves forward with the plan as part of the plan to deploy tactical nuclear bombs in the country bordering Ukraine.

"This is a deterrence measure [against] all those who think about Russia and its strategic defeat," he said in response to a question about the use of nuclear weapons in war.

Only to be used in case of 'danger' to Russia

The Russian President said that the move was about "containment" and to remind anyone "thinking of inflicting a strategic defeat on us". When asked by the forum's moderator about the possibility of using those weapons, he replied: "Why should we threaten the whole world? I have already said that the use of extreme measures is possible in case there is a danger to Russian statehood."

The Russian leader's comments follow claims from Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko this week that his nation received the first part of the "bombs and missiles from Russia," as per retorted by The Hill. Lukashenko told Russian and Belarusian state media, "We have missiles and bombs that we have received from Russia," adding, "The bombs are three times more powerful than those [dropped on] Hiroshima and Nagasaki," Fox News reported.

What are tactical nukes?

Tactical nuclear weapons are small nuclear warheads and delivery systems intended for use on the battlefield, or for a limited strike. They are designed to destroy enemy targets in a specific area without causing widespread radioactive fallout. The smallest tactical nuclear weapons can be one kiloton or less (producing the equivalent to a thousand tonnes of the explosive TNT). The largest ones can be as big as 100 kilotons. By comparison, the atomic bomb the US dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 was 15 kilotons.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced that Russia has commenced the delivery of nuclear weapons to Belarus, including some that are apparently three times as powerful as those detonated over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, reported Fox News.

Comes on the heels of a large-scale Ukrainian counteroffensive

The tactical nuclear warheads are the first Russia has moved since opening its invasion of Ukraine last year. The weapons' arrival comes one week after Ukrainian forces began a large-scale counteroffensive against Russia. Lukashenko argues the weapons will only serve as a deterrent, as per a Fox News report.

"We don't see any indications that Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said after Putin's comments.

Meanwhile, Finland on April 4 this year became NATO's newest member upon depositing its instrument of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty with the United States at NATO Headquarters in Brussels.