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Vladimir Putin has signed a deal to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, according to Russian news agency Tass.
Ten aircraft capable of carrying the armaments have reportedly already been moved there.
A storage facility for the weapons themselves will be built by 1 July.
“We agreed with [Belarusian President Alexander] Lukashenko that we would place tactical
nuclear weapons in Belarus without violating the
non-proliferation regime,” Mr Putin said.
Mr Putin claimed it would not violate nuclear non-proliferation agreements, as the US already has such weapons stationed in Europe, reports Tass.
The US has an estimated 100 nuclear warheads at air bases on the continent, including in Germany, the Netherlands, and Turkey, according to the Centre for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.
What is non-proliferation?
The non-proliferation regime referenced by Mr Putin is an international treaty aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons – keeping them out of the hands of countries which do not already have them.
It was signed in 1968 by dozens of nations, including the Soviet Union, the US, and the UK.
Mr Putin said the weapons to be stationed in Belarus would still be under Russian control.
Russia’s reliance on Belarus
The deal is another sign of the Kremlin’s reliance on Belarus as an ally during the war in Ukraine.
Mr Putin and Mr Lukashenko have both visited each other in their respective capital cities.
Belarus has also helped trained Russian troops, looked after those injured, and provided supplies. The regime has also let Russia use its territory to launch land and air attacks.
You can listen to more about Russia and Belarus’s tight relationship since the war began in the podcast below.
Today’s statement is the latest example of Mr Putin trying to amp up the nuclear rhetoric since the war began.
He has previously threatened to use such weapons and boasted last month that his country’s nuclear potential will rise to “100%”.
It came after he announced that Russia was suspending its participation in a key nuclear treaty with the US which limits the two sides’ strategic nuclear arsenals.
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