Russian ally Belarus will put forward a new military doctrine that allows for the potential use of nuclear weapons, the country's defense minister said Tuesday.
It comes after Russia in 2023 opted to move ahead with plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons into Belarus for the first time since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Last May, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko confirmed some nuclear weapons were already being sent to Belarus. Russia has said it will maintain control over the weapons.
Lukashenko is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. While Belarus hasn't directly joined the Ukraine conflict, Russian troops have been allowed to perform exercises on Belarusian territory since before the beginning of the war. The country was used by Russia to launch its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
"We clearly communicate Belarus' views on the use of tactical nuclear weapons stationed on our territory," said Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin at a meeting of Belarus' Security Council on Wednesday. "A new chapter has appeared, where we clearly define our allied obligations to our allies."
The new military doctrine—the contents of which are unclear—will be presented for approval to the All-Belarusian People's Assembly, a representative body that operates in parallel with the Belarusian parliament.
Lukashenko said in December that a shipment of tactical nuclear weapons from Russia was completed.
In June 2023, Putin confirmed that the first shipment of tactical nuclear weapons had reached Belarus. He was asked if Russia has considered the possibility of using the weapons.
"Why should we threaten the whole world? I have already said that the use of extreme measures is possible in case there is a danger to Russian statehood," Putin responded, adding that it should serve as a reminder to any other nations "thinking of inflicting a strategic defeat on us."
Multiple nuclear threats have been made by Russian officials against Ukraine throughout Moscow's full-scale invasion. Putin said in a televised address to the nation in September 2022 that he'd be prepared to use nuclear weapons to defend Russian territory.
Security Council Secretary Alexander Volfovich said Tuesday that the shipment of Russian nuclear weapons to Belarus seeks to deter aggression from Poland, a member of the NATO military alliance.
"Unfortunately, statements by our neighbors, in particular Poland...forced us to strengthen" the military doctrine, he said.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel ... Read more
