Expert: Belarus did not follow the path of destroying its nuclear infrastructure after USSR collapse

Thanks to the far-sighted policy of President Aleksandr Lukashenko, all infrastructure facilities necessary for the storage, maintenance and use of nuclear weapons have been preserved in Belarus. In his talk with sb.by, national security expert Aleksandr Tishchenko speculated on whether it is possible to rely on their full combat readiness.

“Despite the scepticism of some Western media, everything has been preserved and is operational. As Aleksandr Lukashenko noted, Belarus treated this Soviet legacy very carefully. It did not follow the path that was common among many countries and did not destroy its military infrastructure to please the West. Moreover, such objects as mines, for example, deal mostly with carriers, not nuclear weapons. We have preserved military towns and have good roads. At present, the situation is the following: the tactical nuclear weapons that we possess can be placed on mobile platforms: Iskanders, S-400s, and so on. After all, nuclear munitions can also be used with the help of combat aircraft, and we have all the means to do this. However, if our opponents bring the situation to the point where a decision is made to deploy strategic nuclear weapons in our country, Belarus has all the necessary potential for this – so let the hotheads remember this," the expert noted.