NATO has condemned Vladimir Putin’s announcement that Russia would deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, calling his rhetoric “dangerous and irresponsible,” according to Al Jazeera. Putin justified the move by comparing it to the United States’ storage of similar weapons in bases across Europe, but NATO allies disputed this analogy as misleading.
Experts believe that in the event of a Russian strike, it would likely involve small-size battlefield weapons, known as “tactical” weapons, rather than high-powered, long-range nuclear weapons. Fears of a nuclear war have risen since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Ukraine called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council to respond to the “nuclear blackmail” of Russia, while NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu criticized Russia’s announcement as “totally misleading” and “dangerous and irresponsible”.
Russia has not used nuclear weapons in the war against Ukraine so far. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has primarily involved conventional military forces, with occasional use of artillery, drones, and other weapons. While there have been concerns about the potential for a wider conflict or even a nuclear exchange, there is no evidence that either side has used nuclear weapons during the ongoing conflict. However, tensions have continued to escalate, and the situation remains volatile.
Susi Snyder from the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, stated for Al Jazeera:
It increases the risk of the use of nuclear weapons by adding more actors, who might potentially have the ability to drop nuclear bombs, and create potential for chaos and miscommunication,
These weapons, if used, would have similar or greater results than what we saw in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. They can cause huge catastrophic harm.
The Ukrainian foreign ministry accused Russia of violating its obligations and called on the international community to condemn its actions. While NATO has not yet seen any changes in Russia’s nuclear posture that would lead to adjustments in their own, concerns about the added capabilities and information afforded by the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus persist.