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In a statement released on Sunday, the foreign ministry of Ukraine denounced the action and called for an immediate Security Council meeting. Ukraine expects effective action to confront and mitigate the latest nuclear move by Russia.
Ukrainian officials have demanded an urgent meeting of the U.N. Security Council to “fight the Kremlin’s nuclear blackmail.” The call for a session comes in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry stated they anticipate effective responses from the U.K., China, the U.S., and France to mitigate Moscow’s nuclear threats and intimidation via Belarus. Ukraine demanded that the U.N. Security Council immediately call a meeting to discuss this issue.
The tensions between the nations escalated after a blast deep within Russia injured three people. Russian officials attributed the explosion, which severely damaged residential buildings in a town roughly 175 kilometres (110 miles) south of Moscow, to a Ukrainian drone.
Putin Defends His Nuclear Decision
According to Russia, the West’s escalating military support for Ukraine is the reason behind the decision to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. In a television interview on Saturday, Putin announced the plan, claiming that the U.K.’s decision to give Ukraine depleted uranium-tipped armour-piercing shells earlier this week was what prompted it.
The tactical move is one of Russia’s most obvious nuclear signals since the start of its invasion of Ukraine 13 months ago, even though it was not unexpected.
Putin defended his latest decision by saying Russia was imitating the U.S. by moving its tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus. He mentioned that Washington has nuclear arsenals stationed in Turkey, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and Italy.
Putin said that Russia is constructing a storage facility in Belarus for its tactical nuclear weapons, which will be completed by July this year. These missiles are intended for use on the battlefield and aren’t powerful enough to destroy entire cities. The announcement is the most recent in a series of actions the Russian president has taken to warn Ukraine—and, more significantly, its allies—of Moscow’s nuclear capabilities.
U.S. on Putin’s Nuclear Move
According to a White House spokesman, the administration is closely monitoring the situation but has not yet discovered proof that Putin has relocated any nuclear weapons or plans to use them in Ukraine.
On Sunday, John Kirby, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, stated on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that “the U.S. opposes nuclear wars and that no nuclear war can be won.” We haven’t observed anything that would lead us to alter our position of strategic deterrence,” he added.
The U.S. Defense Department said it had not observed any need to change its nuclear strategy, and there are no signals that Russia is planning to deploy a nuclear bomb. However, we will keep monitoring the situation closely, the department stated.
NATO Condemns Putin
Putin stated that the United States has been carrying such moves for many years; this is nothing unusual. Moreover, they have been stationing their tactical nuclear weapons on the soil of their NATO allies in Europe for a long time.
Officials from NATO rejected the comparison and criticised Russia for its “dangerous and reckless” nuclear rhetoric. NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu twitted that Russia’s claims that NATO shares its nuclear capabilities are completely false. She claimed that while NATO members uphold their international obligations, “Russia has routinely broken its arms control commitments.”
On Sunday, a spokesperson for NATO stated: “NATO is on guard, and we are keeping a close eye on all updates. However, there haven’t been any developments to Russia’s nuclear strategy that would prompt us to change our own.”
German news agency DPA stated that the foreign ministry described the move as “another attempt at nuclear intimidation.” Furthermore, the ministry called Putin’s comparison to NATO’s nuclear participation false and cannot be used to support the hostile action proposed by Russia.
