Ukraine slams Putin plan to station Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus

26/3/2023 19:15

        A top security adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that Russian plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus would destabilise that country, which he said had been taken "hostage" by Moscow.
        
        Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the decision on Saturday, sending a warning to NATO over its military support for Ukraine and escalating a standoff with the West.
        
        Although the move was not unexpected and Putin said it would not violate nuclear non-proliferation promises, it is 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 Defence Council, called it "a step towards internal destabilization of the country" adding it maximizes what he called the level of "negative perception and public rejection" of Russia and Putin in Belarusian society.