Volfovich: Belarus, Russia place stake on strategic deterrence

The State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus, Aleksandr Volfovich, commented on the reasons and motives for the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus

It was stressed that the United States decided to audit its nuclear arsenals stationed in Europe last year. As of today, it is known that 150 of the US nuclear bombs are stored in five countries: Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Turkiye, and Italy. Moreover, modernisation of these munitions has begun, and it will increase the accuracy and range of their use (B61 atomic bombs of various modifications are being redesigned into the most advanced version of B61-12 equipped with a guidance unit similar to the JDAM system).

"In these conditions, the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation place stake on strategic deterrence. The latter was included into the updated National Security Concept as a measure to protect Belarus’ national interests. We are faced with the task of ensuring military security, protecting the people of Belarus by any means. At the same time, we have not changed our military doctrine, which is still defensive in nature. The decision of the two heads of state to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus is just one of the measures of strategic deterrence, and it is of no offensive character," Mr. Volfovich said.

The State Secretary of the Security Council added that the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus is designed to cool the hotheads in the West and is dictated by the relevant conclusions drawn from the military-political situation around the republic.