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Russia to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus next month, Putin says

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin said today that Moscow will deploy some of its tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus next month, a move that the Belarusian opposition described as an attempt to blackmail the West.

Mr Putin announced the planned deployment of the short-range nuclear weapons to the territory of Russia’s neighbour and ally earlier this year. He said at the time that the weapons would remain under Russian control.

In a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Mr Putin said that work on building facilities will be completed by July 7-8, and the weapons will be moved quickly after that.

Russia used Belarusian territory to send its troops into Ukraine on February 24 2022 and has kept forces and weapons on the territory of its ally.

“Everything is proceeding as planned,” Mr Putin said in televised remarks as he hosted Mr Lukashenko at his residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. 

The move comes as Ukraine is widely believed to have begun its long-expected counteroffensive against the Russians.

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