Assassination attempt against Mariupol police chief, says Russian state media

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced his plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in neighbouring Belarus, which staged part of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. It is not clear what the context of Putin’s announcement is, but he has been threatening the possibility of nuclear war for the past year, particularly when his military operations in Ukraine have been failing. Putin blames his decision on the United Kingdom (UK), saying he made it in response to the UK supplying Ukraine with anti-tank ammunition that contains depleted uranium, although the UK denies this. Significantly, Putin says he will not transfer control of the tactical nuclear weapons to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been requesting the weapons for a long time.

The weapons that Putin plans to move to Belarus are not strategic nuclear weapons, but instead, smaller nuclear weapons that can be used on the battlefield. Putin already has ten aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons, as well as several short-range Iskander missile systems that could carry nuclear weapons. Putin says Russia already is constructing a storage facility for the tactical nukes that will be ready by July, but he has given no specific date on which the tactical weapons would arrive.

Russia’s ground war in Ukraine is not making much headway and Putin did not get much out of his summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, aside from several new trade agreements with China. Russia now appears to be China’s junior partner. Putin could be threatening the possibility of nuclear war to distract from his problems with Russia’s ground war in Ukraine.

In conclusion, Putin’s announcement to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in neighbouring Belarus could be an attempt to distract from Russia’s struggling ground war in Ukraine. This move could also threaten the possibility of nuclear war, and it is therefore important to take Putin’s announcement seriously. The UK denies the allegations that it supplied Ukraine with anti-tank ammunition that contains depleted uranium, which Putin claims is a dangerous escalation. Nonetheless, Putin says Russia already has ten aircraft capable of carrying the nuclear weapons and is constructing a storage facility that will be ready by July. Putin also made it clear that he will not transfer control of the tactical nuclear weapons to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been requesting the weapons for a long time.



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