Tactical Nuclear Weapons in Belarus – Corriere.it

From our correspondent
KIEV – in Russia Return to your position Tactical nuclear weapons in Belaruswhich represents a breakthrough in its military apparatus.

Since the mid-1990s, after the collapse of the USSR, the government in Moscow no longer comes up with it nuclear arsenal outside its borders. A highly coveted move from himself Russian President Vladimir Putinwhich returns to underscore The seriousness of the tensions between the Moscow government and the countries associated with NATO. Belarus It borders three members of the alliance: Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.

Weapons experts note that “tactical nuclear bombs” as well More agile and less powerful Among the traditional long-range ones capable of destroying entire cities, they were designed in the 1950s for potential use on battlefields.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government looks with satisfaction at the recent steps it has taken Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark To make or to create Joint air defense system in Northern Europe To counter Russian expansionist ambitions. The same logic has guided Eastern European governments to deepen military cooperation with each other and with NATO since Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine more than 13 months ago. And the consequences for Moscow can only be negative: it aimed to expand its sphere of influence beyond the former provinces it lost when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, but now finds itself having to defend itself against a rallying West. countries and more soaked in Donbass battles.

The leaders of the four Nordic air forces on March 16 signed a declaration of intent aimed at coordinating their military aviation. In all, there are more than 250 modern aircraft that seem to be going to create a lot of trouble for the generals of the Russian General Staff. That’s how I was born A new kind of “mini-NATO”. North, parallel to the single parent of NATO with the United States in the role of the leading country, facilitated by the recent accession by Sweden and Finland.

Putin’s move comes in the context of this open defiance. Yesterday, the Russian president told TASS that he had made another deal with the vassal state of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko To deploy tactical nuclear weapons on its soil, perhaps by next July.

In Belarus they are already found At least 10 Russian aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons and some Iskander missiles on which nuclear warheads can be installed.

According to Putin: “This step does not violate any of the international agreements against nuclear proliferation, given that the United States, among other things, has also placed tactical nuclear weapons in NATO countries in Eastern Europe.” basically, The Russian army is firmly present in Belarus: The forces that aimed to occupy Kiev on February 24, 2022 left their bases. Since then, Lukashenko has balanced his reliance on an alliance with Putin over a desire to avoid direct involvement in the cross-border conflict, realizing that the Belarusian people may not follow him.

On the front of the Ukrainian war must be recorded Intensified bombing by the Russians in the Donbass and the vicinity of Bakhmut. This appears to be Moscow’s forceful response, after both Kiev and Anglo-American military observers pointed out the weakness of the enemy’s offensive in recent days. Yesterday, the Ukrainian Chief of Staff, General Valery Zalogny, repeated this The battle on the Bakhmut front “settled down”..