Belarusian President Oleksandr Lukashenko said his country had begun receiving nuclear weapons promised by Russia, but neither Belarusian nor Russian leaders Vladimir Putin said where they would be placed. If the weapons were located at the Lida air base, 40 km from the Lithuanian border, the means of delivery could reach a large part of Eastern Europe, including Romania, according to Reuters.

Putin said that Iskander short-range mobile ballistic missiles, which can carry nuclear warheads, have already been transferred to Belarus. Russian sources report that “Iskander” has a flight range of 500 km.

Putin also said that 10 Belarusian planes are equipped with nuclear warheads. Belarus said the Su-25s were modified to carry warheads. According to Russian sources, the Su-25 aircraft has a flight range of up to 1,000 km.

The Federation of American Scientists said the weapons could be located at the Lida air base, 40 km from the border with Lithuania.

If so, vehicles carrying these ballistic weapons will be able to reach most of Ukraine, almost all of Eastern Europe, including the Baltic states, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania, part of Germany, as well as part of Denmark. , Sweden and Finland. Cities such as Berlin and Stockholm will be within reach, News.ro reports.

Who will control nuclear weapons in Belarus?

Putin said Russia would have control over the weapons, just as the United States controls its own tactical nuclear weapons stationed in Europe. The United States has had nuclear weapons in Europe since the 1950s at NATO bases.

Putin has repeatedly expressed concern about the 200 US B61 tactical nuclear warheads stationed at bases in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Turkey. These American warheads are stored in secure silos at air bases, and the United States maintains the PAL (Permissive Action Link) codes used to arm them.

Control and transportation of Russia’s nuclear weapons is carried out by the 12 Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense (12 GUMO).

Control over nuclear weapons is falling apart

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the United States went to great lengths to ensure that Soviet nuclear weapons stationed in Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan were returned to Russia, which inherited the Soviet nuclear arsenal.

By redeploying nuclear weapons to Belarus, Putin is demonstrating that the post-Cold War architecture of nuclear arms control is crumbling.

What is the US/NATO response?

The United States has criticized Putin’s nuclear development, but has said it has no intention of changing its position on strategic nuclear weapons and sees no signs that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons.

On March 27, the State Department said the deployment announcement should be condemned.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on April 18 that Putin’s decision was irresponsible, and on June 14 he reiterated that he does not see changes in Russia’s position that would require a change in NATO’s nuclear stance.

Russia’s move is also closely watched by China, which has repeatedly warned against the use of nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine.

“They are three times stronger than Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”

Moscow’s deployment is Moscow’s first move toward such warheads, a shorter-range, lower-power nuclear weapon that could be used on a battlefield outside of Russia after the collapse of the USSR.

“We have missiles and bombs that we received from Russia,” Lukashenko said in an interview with the Russian TV channel “Russia-1”, published on the Telegram channel of the Belarusian state news agency Belta.

“The bombs are three times more powerful than those dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” the Minsk leader said.