US think tank: possible deployment of Russian nukes to boost Moscow’s control over Belarus

May 26, BPN. Preparations to deploy Russian tactical nuclear weapons would “cement Russia’s de facto military control over Belarus,” says a recent analysis by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Moscow’s intentions to deploy additional Russian forces and expand military infrastructure and intelligence activities would “further subordinate the Belarusian security sphere under Russia,” the analysts noted.

However, Russian nuclear plans in Belarus are “highly unlikely to presage any Russian escalation,” the ISW said. “[Vladimir] Putin is extraordinarily unlikely to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine or elsewhere,” it noted.

Russia has had nuclear weapons on its own territory capable of striking any target in the same way as tactical nuclear weapons that it plans to deploy in Belarus, the analysts said.

On May 25, Belarusian Defense Minister Viktar Chrenin and his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu signed the terms of storage of Russian non-strategic nuclear weapons in Belarus. Two months earlier, Putin announced that Russia plans to construct the facility by July 1.

Belarusian leadership will not be authorized to control any of these weapons, Shoigu stressed.