Russia clashes with US over tactical nukes for Belarus
Russia and the U.S. have clashed in the United Nations over Moscow’s plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia and the U.S. clashed in the United Nations on Friday over Moscow’s plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, which neighboring Ukraine denounced as a desperate Kremlin attempt to avoid military defeat and “threaten the world with nuclear apocalypse.”
China, without naming Russia, made clear its opposition to the planned deployment.
Ukraine’s U.N. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya called for the U.N. Security Council meeting following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement on March 25 that his country plans to deploy tactical, comparatively short-range and small-yield nuclear weapons in Belarus.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko upped the ante just before the council meeting, saying Russia might also deploy strategic nuclear weapons in Belarus, which Russian forces have used as a staging ground for the war in Ukraine.
