MINSK, May 7. /TASS/. Tactical nuclear weapons placed on Belarusian soil are a deterrence element and no one intends to attack with them, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday.
"These are deterrence weapons. These are defensive weapons. No one will attack with these weapons," the Pool One Telegram channel close to the presidential press office quoted Lukashenko as saying at a festive gathering on the occasion of Victory Day.
As part of a combat readiness inspection, Belarus "intends for the first time to practice employing non-strategic nuclear weapons," he said.
"The inspection is solely of a defensive nature," he stressed.
During the inspection, the troops will "deliver special munitions to missile and Air Force units, mount them on launchers and aircraft," he explained.
"Missile battalions of the tactical systems Iskander and Polonez [the Polonez multiple launch rocket system] will secretly deploy to designated positions and practice delivering missile strikes to repulse a potential attack on Belarus," Lukashenko said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on March 25, 2023 that at Minsk’s request Moscow would store its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus similar to what the United States had long been doing on the territory of its allies.
Russia handed over Iskander-M tactical missile systems capable of using missiles with both conventional and nuclear warheads to the Belarusian armed forces. Moscow also rendered assistance in re-equipping Belarusian combat planes for carrying special munitions. Belarusian missile personnel underwent special training on Russian territory.
Putin said on June 16 last year that the first Russian nuclear charges had been delivered to Belarus and the entire batch would arrive by the end of 2023.
Lukashenko said in late April that Russia had placed several dozen nuclear munitions on Belarusian soil. Belarus’s updated military doctrine adopted by the all-Belarusian People’s Assembly in April stipulates that Minsk’s capability to prevent a military danger also relies on the support of its allies, primarily Russia. The doctrine views the placement of Russia’s nuclear weapons on its territory as a major element of deterring potential enemies.