Putin says he will place nuclear weapons on Belarus

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 26 Mar 2023 by Alex Teddy

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On March 25 Putin made the announcement. He claimed that this was nothing out of the ordinary. He added that Russia would send depleted uranium ammunition to be used in Ukraine if Ukraine received depleted uranium. On March 24 the UK said it might provide depleted uranium shells to Ukraine because they have greater penetrating power. They are contentious because they are toxic and expose civilians in the area to grave health risks for years after they are fired. Putin said that Russia had hundreds of thousands of depleted uranium shells but had not fired any in Ukraine. It is hard to believe that Russia would not have done this if it had such shells in huge quantities.  Putin said sending nuclear arms to Belarus would not break any international agreement. 10 Belarusian planes are being readied to carry nuclear bombs. Belarus already has the nuclear-capable Iskander missile system. Russia said that in April 2023, Belarusian crews will be trained to use it. In February 2023 Russia suspended its participation in a nuclear arms limitation treaty: START. Why is Russia now talking about nuclear arms so much? As the war is not going well it would like to scare countries away from arming Ukraine.  In 2022 Russia said that Ukraine was working on a nuclear bomb. Ukraine and the West said that this is a lie. NATO believes Russia was preparing a narrative so that if it used a nuclear weapon in Ukraine then Moscow would say it was a Ukrainian nuclear device that went off. In 2022 Putin warned that Russia would use nuclear arms if its vital security were imperiled.