September 25, Pozirk. Vladimir Putin said yesterday that Russia would consider using nuclear weapons in response to an attack on its ally Belarus.
In key remarks at a meeting of the Russian Security Council, the Russian president said his government was considering changing the rules and preconditions around which Russia would use its nuclear arsenal.
“We have agreed on all these issues with Belarus and its president, including on an enemy critically threatening our sovereignty with conventional weapons,” the Kremlin quoted him as saying.
His comments come as Kyiv seeks approval to use long-range Western missiles against military sites in Russia. Russian forces frequently use Belarusian territory to attack Ukraine, more recently with drones.
The Belarusian leader has also complained recently about Ukrainian drone flights over Belarus.
Russia, Putin said, will consider a nuclear strike if it receives “reliable information” about the start of a massive launch of missiles, aircraft and drones into its territory.
On August 15, Alaksandar Łukašenka told the Rossiya television channel that Russia will deploy troops in Belarus if his country is attacked.
Asked whether he was ready to authorize the use of nuclear weapons if necessary, Łukašenka said that “these ‘red buttons’ have already been pressed around the perimeter of Belarus and Russia. All that remains is to press the ‘reddest’ one. That’s why, from the moral standpoint, Putin and I already feel somehow uncomfortable explaining it when we are making these decisions.”
Also read: Minsk, Moscow to sign treaty regulating use of nukes – Belarus’ top diplomat
