US President Joe Biden said on Monday that the threat posed by his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, with tactical nuclear weapons, was “real”, after Moscow’s ally, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, announced that his country had begun receiving nuclear bombs that triple more powerful than those that fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Reuters reports.
Biden condemned Putin’s “absolutely irresponsible” statement on Saturday that Russia had deployed such weapons in Belarus.
At a meeting with donors in California, the president recalled that “a few years ago” when he expressed concern about the drying up of the Colorado River, “everyone looked at me like I was crazy.”
“They looked at me like when I say I’m concerned that Putin might use tactical nuclear weapons,” he added.
Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus
Last week, Belarusian President Oleksandr Lukashenko said his country had begun receiving tactical nuclear weapons from Russia that are three times more powerful than the atomic bombs the US dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II. On Friday, Vladimir Putin confirmed that Moscow had already moved tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus.
It is the first time since the collapse of the former Soviet Union that Russia has sent weapons beyond its borders that have a shorter range and are not as powerful as strategic bombs that can be used on the battlefield.
The United States has announced that it is not changing its position on strategic nuclear weapons in response to the tactical deployment and has no indication that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons.
Russia has rejected Biden’s criticism of plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus since May, saying Washington has deployed such weapons in Europe for decades.
Like the United States and its allies, China closely monitors the development of Russian nuclear weapons and has repeatedly warned that they cannot be used in Ukraine. (Agerpress)
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Source: Hot News
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