Russia wants to strengthen its military control over Belarus by moving nuclear weapons - ISW

The deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus is part of Russia’s long-standing efforts to strengthen de facto military control over Belarus.

This is said in a new report released by the Institute of the Study of War (ISW), according to Ukrinform.

It is noted that the Kremlin claimed Russia has begun transferring tactical nuclear warheads (under Russian control) to Belarus, in line with previously announced plans.

On June 16, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia has moved the first deployment of tactical nuclear warheads to Belarus.

Putin stated that Russian forces will deploy the entirety of planned tactical nuclear warheads shipments to Belarus by the end of 2023.

According to ISW assessments, the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus is part of a longstanding effort to cement Russia’s de facto military control over Belarus and is highly unlikely to presage any Russian escalation.

As Ukrinform reported, on Friday U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, commenting on Putin's latest claims that tactical nuclear warheads have already been transferred to Belarus, said that the United States is closely monitoring the situation, but there are still no indications that Russia is preparing to use it.