A senior Belarusian official on Sunday reportedly threatened to use recently transported tactical nuclear weapons in a warning to Western politicians urging them not to cross strategic issue “red lines” with their Russian ally.
Alexander Volfovich, the state secretary of Belarus’ Security Council, said the United States broke an agreement with Belarus, which provided security guarantees without imposed sanctions in exchange for the withdrawal of nuclear weapons after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
“Today, everything has been torn down,” Volfovich said, according to Reuters. “All the promises made are gone forever.”
Russia and Belarus announced last week that an unknown number of nuclear warheads had already left Moscow for the allied territory after the two nations signed a deal confirming the weapons deployment while remaining under the control of the Kremlin.
U.S. officials believe Russia has approximately 2,000 tactical nuclear weapons designed for military forces to use on the battlefield against enemy troops. The Associated Press reported the weapons include aircraft-carried bombs, short-range missile warheads, and artillery rounds.
Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko, who allowed the Russian government to use its territory to launch the war in Ukraine in February 2022, told reporters in Moscow last week that “the movement of the nuclear weapons has already begun.”
Volfovich said officials view the weapons in Belarus as “one of the steps of strategic deterrence.”
“If there remains any reason in the heads of Western politicians, of course, they will not cross this red line,” he said, adding it “will lead to irreversible consequences” if authorities resort to using tactical nuclear weapons.
U.S. State Department officials condemned Russia transporting the weapons in a briefing last week, calling saying, “It’s the latest example of irresponsible behavior that we have seen from Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine over a year ago.
“As we have made clear, the use of chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons in this conflict would be met with severe consequences,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said. “But in response to this report, I will just add we have seen no reason to adjust our strategic nuclear posture or any indications that Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon.”
Volfovich said last month that officials would deploy tactical or strategic nuclear munitions at the nation’s western border that are primarily as a deterrent to ensure the security of both Russia and Belarus, according to state media.
“The number of warheads doesn’t matter,” Volfovich said. “What matters is how they will be used and whether they will be used correctly. And we know how to use them. As for whether they will have to be used or not … I don’t think things will go so far that they will need to be used.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the U.S. and its allies of waging an undeclared war against the country since launching the full-scale war in Ukraine.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in a meeting with Belarusian officials last week accused the “collective West” of waging a proxy war to “prolong and escalate the armed conflict in Ukraine.”