{"id":5758,"date":"2023-04-14T13:20:40","date_gmt":"2023-04-14T13:20:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=5758"},"modified":"2023-04-14T13:20:40","modified_gmt":"2023-04-14T13:20:40","slug":"russia-trained-belarusian-pilots-to-use-nuclear-weapons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/europe\/russia\/russia-trained-belarusian-pilots-to-use-nuclear-weapons\/2023\/04\/14\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia trained Belarusian pilots to use nuclear weapons"},"content":{"rendered":"

MOSCOW<\/span> (AP)<\/span> –<\/span> Crew<\/span> members<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Belarusian<\/span> Air<\/span> Force<\/span> have<\/span> completed<\/span> training<\/span> to<\/span> use<\/span> tactical<\/span> nuclear<\/span> weapons<\/span> as<\/span> part<\/span> of<\/span> Russia’s<\/span> plan<\/span> to<\/span> use<\/span> the<\/span> weapons<\/span> in<\/span> ally<\/span> Belarus<\/span> during<\/span> the<\/span> fighting<\/span> in<\/span> Ukraine<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span>The<\/span> ministry<\/span> released<\/span> a<\/span> video<\/span> in<\/span> which<\/span> a<\/span> Belarusian<\/span> pilot<\/span> said<\/span> a<\/span> training<\/span> course<\/span> in<\/span> Russia<\/span> provided<\/span> the<\/span> crews<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Belarusian<\/span> Air<\/span> Force’s<\/span> Su-25<\/span> ground<\/span> attack<\/span> aircraft<\/span> with<\/span> the<\/span> skills<\/span> needed<\/span> to<\/span> handle<\/span> the<\/span> weapon.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Russian<\/span> President<\/span> Vladimir<\/span> Putin<\/span> said<\/span> last<\/span> month<\/span> that<\/span> Russia<\/span> plans<\/span> to<\/span> deploy<\/span> some<\/span> of<\/span> its<\/span> tactical<\/span> nuclear<\/span> weapons<\/span> in<\/span> Belarus.<\/span> It<\/span> was<\/span> another<\/span> attempt<\/span> by<\/span> Kremlin<\/span> leaders<\/span> to<\/span> bring<\/span> up<\/span> the<\/span> nuclear<\/span> threat<\/span> to<\/span> deter<\/span> Western<\/span> powers<\/span> from<\/span> supporting<\/span> Ukraine.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Russia<\/span> has<\/span> a<\/span> union<\/span> agreement<\/span> with<\/span> Belarus<\/span> that<\/span> provides<\/span> for<\/span> close<\/span> political,<\/span> economic<\/span> and<\/span> military<\/span> ties.<\/span> Russian<\/span> forces<\/span> have<\/span> maintained<\/span> a<\/span> presence<\/span> in<\/span> Belarus,<\/span> using<\/span> Belarusian<\/span> territory<\/span> to<\/span> invade<\/span> Ukraine<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> north<\/span> in<\/span> February<\/span> 2022.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> deployment<\/span> of<\/span> Russian<\/span> tactical<\/span> nuclear<\/span> weapons<\/span> in<\/span> Belarus<\/span> brings<\/span> it<\/span> closer<\/span> to<\/span> potential<\/span> targets<\/span> in<\/span> Ukraine<\/span> and<\/span> NATO<\/span> member<\/span> states<\/span> in<\/span> Eastern<\/span> and<\/span> Central<\/span> Europe.<\/span> Belarus<\/span> shares<\/span> her<\/span> 1,250-kilometer<\/span> border<\/span> with<\/span> NATO<\/span> member<\/span> states<\/span> Latvia,<\/span> Lithuania<\/span> and<\/span> Poland.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Such<\/span> weapons<\/span> are<\/span> designed<\/span> to<\/span> destroy<\/span> enemy<\/span> forces<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> battlefield.<\/span> They<\/span> have<\/span> a<\/span> relatively<\/span> short<\/span> range<\/span> and<\/span> much<\/span> weaker<\/span> power<\/span> compared<\/span> to<\/span> nuclear<\/span> warheads<\/span> mounted<\/span> on<\/span> long-range<\/span> strategic<\/span> missiles<\/span> that<\/span> can<\/span> wipe<\/span> out<\/span> entire<\/span> cities.<\/span> Putin<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> construction<\/span> of<\/span> Belarus’<\/span> tactical<\/span> nuclear<\/span> weapons<\/span> storage<\/span> facility<\/span> will<\/span> be<\/span> completed<\/span> by<\/span> July<\/span> 1.<\/span> Russia<\/span> also<\/span> helped<\/span> modernize<\/span> Belarusian<\/span> fighter<\/span> jets<\/span> to<\/span> carry<\/span> nuclear<\/span> weapons,<\/span> and<\/span> provided<\/span> the<\/span> country<\/span> with<\/span> short-range<\/span> Iskandar<\/span> missiles<\/span> capable<\/span> of<\/span> carrying<\/span> nuclear<\/span> warheads.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Putin<\/span> stressed<\/span> that<\/span> Russia<\/span> maintains<\/span> control<\/span> of<\/span> all<\/span> nuclear<\/span> weapons<\/span> deployed<\/span> in<\/span> Belarus,<\/span> just<\/span> as<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> States<\/span> controls<\/span> tactical<\/span> nuclear<\/span> weapons<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> territory<\/span> of<\/span> NATO<\/span> allies.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Authoritarian<\/span> Belarusian<\/span> President<\/span> Alexander<\/span> Lukashenko<\/span> has<\/span> suggested<\/span> that<\/span> some<\/span> of<\/span> Russia’s<\/span> strategic<\/span> and<\/span> tactical<\/span> nuclear<\/span> weapons<\/span> could<\/span> be<\/span> transferred<\/span> to<\/span> Belarus.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Belarus’<\/span> Defense<\/span> Minister<\/span> Viktor<\/span> Vlenin<\/span> on<\/span> Friday<\/span> raised<\/span> the<\/span> possibility<\/span> again<\/span> that<\/span> “it<\/span> could<\/span> be<\/span> the<\/span> next<\/span> step”<\/span> if<\/span> the<\/span> West<\/span> continues<\/span> what<\/span> he<\/span> described<\/span> as<\/span> a<\/span> hostile<\/span> course.<\/span> “Violence<\/span> can<\/span> only<\/span> be<\/span> met<\/span> with<\/span> violence,<\/span> otherwise<\/span> they<\/span> won’t<\/span> get<\/span> it<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> West,”<\/span> said<\/span> Krennin.<\/span> “We’re<\/span> preparing<\/span> sites<\/span> that<\/span> already<\/span> have<\/span> .”<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Belarus,<\/span> Kazakhstan<\/span> and<\/span> Ukraine<\/span> had<\/span> Soviet<\/span> nuclear<\/span> weapons<\/span> stationed<\/span> on<\/span> their<\/span> territories,<\/span> which<\/span> were<\/span> handed<\/span> over<\/span> to<\/span> Russia<\/span> after<\/span> the<\/span> collapse<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Soviet<\/span> Union<\/span> in<\/span> 1991.<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MOSCOW (AP) – Crew members of the Belarusian Air Force have completed training to use tactical nuclear weapons as part of Russia’s plan to use the weapons in ally Belarus during the fighting in Ukraine. The ministry released a video in which a Belarusian pilot said a training course in Russia provided the crews of […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[2480,2482,26,276],"tags":[1840,3059,3060,3061,3065,3067,3827,3828,3829,154,3830,156,3831,1227,3832,1312,3833,1393,1835,1839],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/belarussian.webp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5758"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5758"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5758\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5760,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5758\/revisions\/5760"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}