Putin claims that Russia intends to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

Russia plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, President Vladimir Putin said Saturday. He said Moscow had already transferred an Iskander short-range missile system, a device which can be fitted with nuclear or conventional warheads, to Belarus, and would start training pilots to fly the re-configured planes early next month. Belarus, which is west of Russia on Ukraine's long northern border, is among Moscow's closest allies and helped Russia launch its initial invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Putin's remarks build on comments made in December at a joint news conference with Lukashenko in Minsk, when the Russian leader said Moscow was training Belarusian pilots to fly jets capable of carrying a "special warhead." Belarus has had no nuclear weapons on its territory since the early 1990s, and has agreed to transfer all Soviet-era weapons of mass destruction stationed there to Russia. Ukraine, however, sees these plans as a sign that Putin is "afraid of losing" and is trying to scare with tactics. Russian President Vladimir Putin has violated the nuclear non-proliferation treaty by stationing tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. He likened the move to Washington's practice of stationing nuclear weapons in Europe to keep host countries from breaking their commitments as non-nuclear powers. Although there is no guarantee that Putin will follow through with his plan to station the weapons in Belarus, any nuclear signaling by him will cause concern in the West. The State Department has not seen any reason to adjust its strategic nuclear posture nor any indications Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon. Previously, Washington has made clear to Putin there will be consequences to any use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine, even low-yield tactical devices, but has deliberately stopped short of spelling out exactly what they would be. US President Joe Biden has hinted at the possibility of a rapid escalation in events.