Russia’s nuclear rhetoric ‘dangerous,’ NATO says, after Putin talks of deployment deal with Belarus

NATO on Sunday criticized Russia for its “dangerous and irresponsible” nuclear rhetoric, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia would place tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

“NATO is alert, and we are closely monitoring the situation. We have not seen any changes in Russia’s nuclear posture that would lead us to adjust ourselves,” said a NATO spokesman.

“Russia’s reference to NATO nuclear sharing is totally misleading. NATO allies act with respect for their international commitments. Russia has consistently violated its arms control commitments, most recently suspending participation in the New START Treaty.”

The top security adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Russia’s plans announced on Saturday would destabilize Belarus, which Moscow has called a “hostage”.

Ukraine’s government on Sunday called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to “fight the Kremlin’s nuclear blackmail.”

Although the move was unexpected and Putin said it would not violate his nuclear non-proliferation pledge, it was one of Russia’s most pronounced nuclear signals since the beginning of its invasion of Ukraine 13 months ago.

Oleksiy Danilov, head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, called it a “step towards the internal destabilization of the country,” adding to what he called the level of “negative perception and general rejection” of Russia and Putin in Belarusian society.

“Remlin (K) took Belarus as a nuclear hostage,” he wrote on Twitter.

Putin said the US is doing the same

Putin compared the plan to the US placing weapons in Europe, and said Russia would not transfer control of those weapons to Belarus.

He made the announcement in a televised interview broadcast on Saturday, saying it was triggered by Britain’s decision last week to supply Ukraine with armor-piercing rounds containing depleted uranium.

“We’re not giving up [the weapons]. And the US did not hand [them] to his allies. Basically we are doing the same thing we have been doing for ten years,” Putin said.

However, this could be the first time since the mid-1990s that Russia has based these weapons outside the country. Experts told Reuters, the development is important, because Russia until now prides itself that unlike the United States, it does not spread nuclear weapons outside its borders.

Another senior Zelenskyy adviser on Sunday scoffed at Putin’s plan, saying the Russian leader was “very predictable.”

“Making a statement about tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, he admits he’s afraid of losing & all he can do is fear tactics,” Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted.

Washington, the world’s other nuclear power, downplayed concerns about Putin’s announcement and the potential for Moscow to use nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine.

The US downplays the threat

John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council, said in an interview on CBC Rosemary Barton Live on Sunday that the US is aware of the report but the situation has not changed.

“We are watching this very closely. We have seen the reports. I can say that we have not seen anything that would indicate that Mr. Putin is ready to use tactical nuclear weapons … and I can say that we have ‘ “I don’t see what —what will cause us to change our own strategic nuclear deterrence posture,” Kirby said.

Tactical nuclear weapons refer to those used for specific advantages on the battlefield rather than those with the capacity to destroy cities. It is unclear how many weapons Russia has, as the region is still shrouded in Cold War secrecy.

Analysts at the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on Saturday that the risk of an escalation of nuclear war “remains extremely low.”

“ISW continues to establish that Putin is a risk-averse actor who has repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons with no intention of following through,” it wrote.

However, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons called Putin’s announcement a very dangerous escalation.

Risk of ‘disaster’

“In the context of the war in Ukraine, the possibility of miscalculation or misinterpretation is very high. Showing nuclear weapons makes the situation worse and risks catastrophic humanitarian consequences,” he said on Twitter.

Putin said Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko had long called for the deployment. There was no immediate reaction from Lukashenko.

While the Belarusian army has not officially fought in Ukraine, Minsk and Moscow have close military ties. Minsk allowed Moscow to use Belarusian territory to send troops to Ukraine last year and the two countries have stepped up joint military exercises.

EU urges Belarus not to host arms because of war

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Sunday urged Belarus not to host Russian nuclear weapons, saying it could face further sanctions if it does so.

“Belarus hosting Russian nuclear weapons means an irresponsible escalation and a threat to European security. Belarus can still stop, it’s their choice. The EU stands ready to respond with further sanctions,” said Borrell in a tweet.

In the battle, Russian forces attacked military targets in Kharkiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, causing significant Ukrainian casualties, Russia’s defense ministry said on Sunday.

Russia’s TASS news agency quoted law enforcement and emergency service sources as saying on Sunday that a Ukrainian-operated drone caused an explosion in the center of the city of Kireyevsk in the Tula region, killing three people and destroying three residential buildings.

Russia has said in the past month that Ukrainian drones have flown into the region and caused damage to civilian infrastructure, a statement Kyiv denied.

Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak said Russian forces had destroyed two apartment buildings in a missile strike in the eastern town of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region. They said there were no casualties.

The Ukrainian General Staff said on Sunday that Ukrainian forces had repelled 85 Russian attacks in the past 24 hours in the eastern part of the country, including the Bakhmut region, which has been the scene of brutal fighting in recent months.