Russia and Belarus announce that they will jointly practice the use of tactical nuclear weapons

Belarus will participate in joint tactical nuclear military exercises with Russia, Reuters reports. According to the cited source, the regime in Minsk has already begun to check its military’s readiness to use Russian-supplied tactical nuclear weapons. The Kremlin said on Monday it would train for the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons as part of its exercises.

The announcement comes shortly after Russia made fresh bellicose statements against France, the United Kingdom and the United States, claiming it was “threatened” by those countries.

Belarusian state news agency Belta quoted Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Hrenin as saying Lukashenko had ordered a “surprise” inspection of forces handling Russian nuclear weapons. During the inspection, “the entire range of activities from planning, preparing and using tactical nuclear weapons strikes will be checked,” Hrenin added.

An Iskander missile maneuver division and a squadron of Su-25 aircraft are also participating in the checks, he added.

The Belarusian dictator, Lukashenko, declared in April that dozens of Russian nuclear weapons had been deployed in Belarus, as part of an agreement announced last year by him and the Russian dictator, Vladimir Putin.

Tactical nuclear weapons are intended to be used on the battlefield and not against cities and civilians like strategic ones.

Editor: Adrian Dumitru

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