Putin: Russia plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus

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President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that Russia plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus.

A special storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus is to be built and installed by the beginning of July, Putin told state broadcaster Russia 1.

Putin said Russia had helped Belarus convert 10 aircraft to make them capable of carrying tactical nuclear warheads and would start training pilots to fly the re-configured planes early next month. 

Putin said that the placement of nuclear weapons in Belarus will not violate nuclear non-proliferation accords.

´´We’re not transferring our nuclear weapons to Belarus but will station them there, like the US does in Europe.´´

´´We have found no reason to change our own strategic nuclear posture, nor have we seen any signals that Russia is planning to use a nuclear weapon,´´ the US Department of Defense said in a statement. 

In prior communications, Washington made clear to Putin that there will be consequences to any use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine.