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VLADIMIR Putin is sending tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus on the border with Nato, in a significant escalation of tensions over Ukraine.
The Russian President at present claimed it is not going to violate non-proliferation agreements, after the 2 international locations struck a deal.
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Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko had lengthy raised the difficulty of stationing tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, which borders Poland, Putin advised state tv.
“There’s nothing uncommon right here both: firstly, the United States has been doing this for many years. They’ve lengthy deployed their tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of their allied international locations,” he stated.
“We agreed that we are going to do the identical – with out violating our obligations, I emphasise, with out violating our worldwide obligations on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.”
Russia may have accomplished the development of a storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus by July 1, Putin stated, including that Moscow wouldn’t really be transferring management of the arms to Minsk.
Russia has stationed 10 plane in Belarus able to carrying tactical nuclear weapons, he stated, including that Moscow had already transferred to Belarus various Iskander tactical missile programs that can be utilized to launch nuclear weapons.
It comes after Russia issued a warning to Britain over plans to probably arm Ukraine with tank shells containing depleted uranium.
Moscow is fuming over the plan – with one among Putin’s officers decrying it as “genocide” and one other warning of a “nuclear collision”.
“It is a step in direction of an additional escalation, and a critical one at that,” International Minister Sergei Lavrov stated.
He added that using such ammunition would “sharply scale back” Ukraine’s means to “produce high-quality, uncontaminated meals”.
It got here after Putin vowed Russia could be “pressured to react” to any such strikes by the UK.
And in the meantime nuclear capable bombers have been energetic over Europe, with unimaginable footage displaying a B-52 flanked by six Nato fighter jets.
Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu additionally fired a warning on the UK.
“Just one factor may be stated right here: there aren’t so many steps, one other step has been handed, and there are fewer and fewer of them,” stated Shoigu.
When requested whether or not this meant that the world was nearer to a nuclear collision, he replied: “It was not by likelihood that I advised you about steps.
“There are fewer and fewer.”
Russian international ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova additionally hit again – accusing the UK of “genocide”.
“The usage of ammunition with depleted uranium is a manifestation of genocide of the inhabitants towards which it’s used and the individuals who use them,” she stated.
Depleted uranium is a by-product of the nuclear enriching course of used to make nuclear gasoline or nuclear weapons. It’s round 60 p.c as radioactive as pure uranium.
Its heaviness lends itself to be used in armour piercing rounds because it helps them simply penetrate metal.
The United Nations Atmosphere Program has described it as a “chemically and radiologically poisonous heavy steel”.
Earlier this month, a Russian fighter jet intercepted a pair of US nuclear bombers.
Footage taken from the Su-35 exhibits it flying beside one among two huge B-52s whereas Russian Tu-95 Bear nuclear bombers had been seen taking off in a present of power.
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