|
"In
the context of an extremely sharp escalation of threats on the
western borders of Russia and Belarus, a decision was made to
take countermeasures in the military-nuclear sphere," TASS news
agency quoted Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu as saying.
The deployment of the missiles was first announced by President
Vladimir Putin in March. Since invading Ukraine last year, Putin
has said repeatedly that Russia would be ready to use nuclear
weapons if needed to defend its "territorial integrity".
NATO said at the time it did not see any need to adjust its own
nuclear posture, though it said Putin's nuclear rhetoric was
"dangerous and irresponsible". Ukraine said Russia's ally
Belarus had been "taken hostage" by Moscow.
Moscow will retain control over the weapons and any decisions on
their use, Shoigu said.
TASS quoted him as saying that Iskander-M missiles, which can
carry conventional or nuclear warheads, had been handed to the
Belarusian armed forces, and some Su-25 aircraft had been
converted for the possible use of nuclear weapons.
"Belarusian servicemen have received the necessary training in
Russian training centres," Shoigu was quoted as saying.
He added that the agreements signed with his Belarusian
counterpart covered the procedure for establishing a "special
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 capable of
wiping out entire cities. Russia has not disclosed how many
tactical nuclear weapons it has.
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing Peter
Graff)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
