Russia has taken Belarus as a “nuclear hostage”, Ukraine said on Sunday following President Vladimir Putin’s announcement of a deployment of “tactical” nuclear weapons in its ally’s territory.
“The Kremlin has taken Belarus as a nuclear hostage,” Ukrainian Security Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov wrote on Twitter, adding that the move is a “step towards internal destabilization of the country.”
putin’s statement about placing tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus – a step towards internal destabilization of the country – maximizes the level of negative perception and public rejection of russia and putin in Belarusian society. The kremlin took Belarus as a nuclear hostage.
The Russian president’s announcement “maximizes the level of negative perception and public rejection of Russia and Vladimir Putin in Belarusian society,” Oleksiy Danilov said.
Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that he had the Minsk agreement to deploy “tactical” nuclear weapons in Belarus, a country located at the gates of the European Union and led since 1994 by Alexander Lukashenko, his closest ally.
If Belarus does not take a direct part in the conflict in Ukraine, Moscow used its territory to lead its offensive on Kiev last year or to carry out strikes, according to the Ukrainian authorities.
Russian officials have repeatedly issued thinly veiled threats to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine if the conflict escalates significantly.
Vladimir Putin motivated his decision on Saturday by the United Kingdom’s desire to send depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine, as recently mentioned by a British official.
Consult our file: War in Ukraine
