Russian President Vladimir Putin announced at an economic forum in St. Petersburg that tactical nuclear weapons had been deployed to Belarus. This marked the first time such warheads had been stationed outside of Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The deployment was a clear message to the West, emphasizing that Russia could not be subjected to a strategic defeat. Putin confirmed that the delivery of these weapons to Belarus was already underway.
The purpose of this move, according to Putin, was to deter any attempts to impose a strategic defeat on Russia. He drew attention to the longstanding deployment of tactical nuclear weapons by the United States in various European countries. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Putin, had previously disclosed that his country had started receiving Russian tactical nuclear weapons, including some with three times the power of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan in 1945.
While the United States criticized Putin’s decision, it clarified that it had no intention of altering its own stance on strategic nuclear weapons. There were no indications suggesting Russia’s immediate intention to use a nuclear weapon. However, both Washington and its allies, as well as China, kept a close watch on the situation due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Putin emphasized that the West was attempting to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia in Ukraine, where Russia had engaged in a significant land war since its invasion of the country. However, he emphasized that Russia did not currently see the need to resort to nuclear weapons, as their primary purpose was to ensure the security and existence of the Russian state.
Regarding talks with the West to reduce Russia’s extensive nuclear arsenal, Putin dismissed the idea, stating that discussing the potential use of nuclear weapons would only lower the threshold for their deployment. He defiantly highlighted that Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russian forces had not achieved significant success and that Ukraine’s reliance on Western-supplied military equipment hindered its ability to effectively fight.
While independent military analysts noted Ukraine’s success in outperforming Russia’s larger army, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed that it had repelled numerous counterattacks by the Ukrainian army, inflicting severe losses. Putin warned that Western-supplied hardware, such as German-made tanks, would be destroyed, and he further expressed concern about Ukraine acquiring U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, stating that they would face the same fate.
Putin viewed the use of F-16s in combat operations against Russia as a serious danger that could potentially escalate the conflict and draw NATO further into the dispute. As tensions remained high, both sides continued to engage in the war in Ukraine, with the situation showing no signs of immediate resolution.