December 11, Pozirk. There is no evidence that Russian nuclear warheads have been delivered to Belarus, Pavel Podvig, a senior researcher at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), has told The Insider.
His conclusion mirrors a similar report by the BelPol association of former Belarusian law enforcers issued about two weeks ago.
Alaksandar Łukašenka’s statements about the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus should be taken with a grain of salt, Podvig noted.
Most likely, Minsk does not have nuclear warheads, he said, noting that the Russian system of handling nuclear warheads excludes the possibility of their transportation to Belarus. Western intelligence agencies did not report the transfer of nuclear weapons, he added.
Russian nukes are likely to be stored at a centralized storage facility, with the closest one to Belarus located in Russia’s Bryansk province, Podvig said.
Nuclear weapons require security, including bunkers with steel doors, heavily guarded deforested premises and a lot of personnel, he noted. Even though Minsk was reportedly engaged in the construction of a similar facility, it does not mean that real nuclear weapons are there, he added.
Minsk allowed Russia to deploy tactical nuclear munitions in Belarus last spring. In late 2023, Łukašenka confirmed their delivery. Yesterday, he reiterated that he allowed Russia to deliver dozens of nuclear warheads.
A leaked CIA report suggested that nukes might be stored in the Mahiloŭ region yet doubts persist as to their presence in Belarus.
