Russia has taken Belarus as a “nuclear hostage”, Kyiv mentioned on Sunday after Russian President Vladimir Putin introduced he can be stationing tactical nuclear weapons there.
“The Kremlin took Belarus as a nuclear hostage,” Oleksiy Danilov, head of Ukraine’s Nationwide Safety and Defence Council, mentioned, including that it was “a step in direction of the inner destabilisation of the nation”.
Strongman Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in energy in Belarus for nearly 30 years, is a key Putin ally.
On Saturday, Putin mentioned he and Lukashenko “agreed” Russia would station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. The US performed down considerations concerning the announcement and the potential for Moscow to make use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
“We’ve not seen any purpose to regulate our personal strategic nuclear posture nor any indications Russia is getting ready to make use of a nuclear weapon,” a senior official mentioned.
10:19 AM
Russia-Belarus nuclear plan meant to ‘intimidate Nato’
“There is no such thing as a navy utility” to Moscow’s plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons to Belarusian territory, and the purpose is just to “intimidate Nato,” in accordance with a nuclear weapons skilled.
“That is a part of Putin’s sport to attempt to intimidate Nato … as a result of there isn’t a navy utility from doing this in Belarus as Russia has so many of those weapons and forces inside Russia,” mentioned Hans Kristensen, director of the nuclear data undertaking on the Federation of American Scientists.
Belarus borders three Nato members – Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.
Different consultants have described it as a “very important transfer” and warned of the dangers of miscalculation and misinterpretation relating to nuclear threats.
10:03 AM
Russia renews drone strikes
Russia has launched not less than 71 Iranian-made kamikaze drones this month, after a two-week pause, in accordance with the UK Ministry of Defence.
The event means that “Russia has doubtless began receiving common resupplies of small numbers” of the Shahed drones, the ministry mentioned.
It added that the drones are doubtless being launched from two axes – Russia’s Krasnodar Krai within the east and Bryansk Oblast within the north-east – with the purpose of reducing flying time to targets within the north of Ukraine and additional stretching Ukrainian air defences.