Vladimir Putin and Russia’s ally Belarus launched startling tactical nuke exercises this week in what marked just the latest threat against the West amid the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war, RadarOnline.com can report.
In the latest development to come months after Putin agreed to provide Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko with tactical nuclear weapons late last year, Belarus announced on Monday morning that it began “exercises” to practice the deployment of the dangerous nuclear weapons.
According to Belarusian Defense Minister Lieutenant General Viktor Khrenin, the newly launched exercises were a proactive measure to “increase our readiness to use so-called retaliatory weapons” against the West.
“Now, more than ever before, we are determined to respond to any threats posed to both our country and the Union State between Russia and Belarus,” Khrenin said this week, Daily Mail reported.
Khrenin’s remarks on Monday morning came just two months after Lukashenko himself confirmed that Belarus had received “several dozens” of nuclear weapons from Putin and Russia in April.
Lukashenko argued that Belarus needed the tactical nukes as a “deterrence” should Ukraine or the West decide to use Belarus to strike Russia.
“Nuclear deterrence,” the Belarus leader said in April. “Those who will push us towards it should know about it and have a rational look at the straightforward consequences of their ill-considered decisions.”
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Lukashenko’s decision to launch joint tactical nuke exercises with Russia this week came shortly after the West agreed to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets.
Moscow warned that Russia would strike targets on NATO soil if it was found that Ukraine’s new F-16 fighter jets were being stored there – a threat that further intensified the already tense relations between Russia and the West amid the war in Ukraine.
“A certain number of aircraft will be stored at secure air bases outside of Ukraine so that they are not targeted here,” Serhii Holubtsov, who currently serves as the head of aviation for Ukraine's air force, said regarding the F-16 fighter jets.
“This way, we can always have a certain number of aircraft in the operational fleet that corresponds to the number of pilots we have,” he continued.
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“If there are more pilots, there will be more aircraft in Ukraine.”
Putin previously warned that Kyiv’s decision to station F-16 fighter jets outside of Ukraine would “pose a serious danger of NATO being further drawn into the conflict.”
He also noted that the fighter jets were “capable of carrying nuclear weapons” and that Moscow would “need to take that into account while organizing combat operations.”
“If they supply weapons to the combat zone and call for using these weapons against our territory, why don't we have the right to do the same?” Putin charged last week while defending his decision to provide Belarus with nukes.