Putin noted that this recent move was triggered by the United Kingdom's decision to supply Ukraine with armor-piercing tank rounds containing depleted uranium for its new batch of British-supplied Challenger 2 main battle tanks. (Related: UK to send Ukraine DEPLETED URANIUM tank rounds that could cause irreparable harm to the people and the land.)
When asked how Moscow will respond to Ukraine being supplied with depleted uranium shells, Putin noted that Russia also has vast quantities of the weaponry in its military stockpiles.
"Russia of course has what it needs to answer. Without exaggeration, we have hundreds of thousands of such shells. We have not used them yet," said Putin.
In addition to using depleted uranium munitions, Putin noted that he has received permission from Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to station tactical nukes in his country.
Tactical nuclear weapons, also known as non-strategic nuclear weapons, are designed for use on battlefields and have significantly shorter ranges than strategic or long-range nuclear weapons, which are designed to strike targets in an adversary's homeland, such as critical infrastructure.
Putin noted that he is only fulfilling Lukashenko's long-time request to have nuclear weapons stationed in his country to counter the neighboring presence of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Belarus shares borders with three NATO members: Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. It also borders Ukraine in the south. Russia has used the Belarusian territory as a staging ground for its ongoing conflict with Ukraine.
Putin also argued that Russia is only following the lead of America, noting that it has nuclear weapons based in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey.
"There is nothing unusual here either," said Putin. "The United States has been doing this for decades. They have long placed their tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of their allies, preparing the launch platforms and training their crews. We are going to do the same thing."
Number of tactical nukes to be stationed in Belarus still unknown
The Russian president noted that the move does not violate his nation's nuclear non-proliferation promises. But the international community has noted that this is the most pronounced signal of a potential nuclear war since the beginning of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine 13 months ago.
Putin also did not specify when the weapons would be transferred to Belarus. But he noted that Russia would complete the construction of a storage facility for nuclear weapons in the country by July 1. It is unclear where in the country this storage facility would be built.
Putin did not say how many nuclear weapons Russia would place in Belarus. The Russian government does not publish proper statistics about how many such weapons it has, but the U.S. government believes that Russia has around 2,000 tactical nuclear weapons, which include bombs that can be carried by tactical aircraft, short-range missiles that can be fired from rocket launcher platforms and even smaller tactical nukes that can be fired from artillery pieces.
This would also be the first time since the downfall of the Soviet Union that Russia would deploy nuclear weapons outside of its own borders.
Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who is currently living in exile, warned the international community that it should take the threat of a nuclear war seriously, and the transfer of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus "underlines the threat to regional security."
"Europe won't be safe," wrote Tsikhanouskaya, who added a plea for the international community to oust Lukashenko and bring him before an international tribunal to "face justice for crimes against our country and Ukraine."
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Watch this clip from "Wake Up America Weekend" on Newsmax discussing Russia's plan to put tactical nuclear missiles in Belarus and what this means for the rest of the world.
This is from the News Clips channel on Brighteon.com.
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