“In the context of a particularly sharp escalation of threats on the western borders of Russia and Belarus, a call was made to take countermeasures in the military-nuclear sphere,” TASS information company quoted Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu as saying.
The deployment of the missiles was first introduced by President Vladimir Putin in March. Since invading Ukraine final yr, Putin has stated repeatedly that Russia can be prepared to use nuclear weapons if wanted to defend its “territorial integrity”.
NATO stated on the time it didn’t see any want to alter its personal nuclear posture, although it stated Putin’s nuclear rhetoric was “harmful and irresponsible”. Ukraine stated Russia’s ally Belarus had been “taken hostage” by Moscow.
Moscow will retain control over the weapons and any selections on their use, Shoigu stated.
TASS quoted him as saying that Iskander-M missiles, which may carry typical or nuclear warheads, had been handed to the Belarusian armed forces, and a few Su-25 plane had been transformed for the doable use of nuclear weapons.
“Belarusian servicemen have obtained the mandatory coaching in Russian coaching centres,” Shoigu was quoted as saying.He added that the agreements signed together with his Belarusian counterpart coated the process for establishing a “particular storage facility for nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory.”
Tactical nuclear weapons refer to lower-yield weapons designed for battlefield use, as opposed to strategic ones able to wiping out complete cities. Russia has not disclosed what number of tactical nuclear weapons it has.
