Russia trains Belarusian pilots for nuclear weapons use

Europe, News April 17, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

A group of Belarusian Air Force pilots completed training for using tactical nuclear weapons from their Russian counterparts. The training was part of Russia’s plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

In a video released by the Russian Defense Ministry, the Belarusian pilots can be seen attending training courses in Russia. The crew of the Belarusian Air Force’s Su-25 fighter jets consisting of pilots and the ground staff was trained with all the necessary skills required to operate and deploy nuclear weapons.

Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in the neighboring ally country of Belarus. Moscow’s announcement was perceived as another nuclear threat by the NATO allies.

Putin said that Russia would complete the construction of a nuclear tactical weapons storage facility in Belarus by July this year. After the construction, Moscow would start transferring nuclear weapons to Belarus.

Putin compared Russia’s deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus to the U.S.’s deployment of similar weapons in Europe, stating that the move does not violate its nuclear non-proliferation obligations. He emphasized that Russia would control the nuclear weapons deployed in Belarus, just as the U.S. controls its tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of its NATO allies.

He also highlighted that Russia has helped Belarus upgrade 10 aircraft capable of carrying tactical nuclear warheads foreshadowing the ongoing pilot training by the Russian Air Force.

^{A Belarusian air force pilot speaks at an unidentified location. The video said that Belarusian aircrews have completed a training course in Russia on using nuclear weapons. (Image Credit: Russian Defense Ministry Press Service/via AP)}

The U.S. downplayed Russia’s move, as a senior U.S. administration official at that time indicated that the U.S. does not consider the Russian move to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus as a signal to use nuclear weapons. The U.S. official said, “We have not seen any reason to adjust our own strategic nuclear posture nor any indications Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon. We remain committed to the collective defense of the NATO alliance.”

Deployment of Russian tactical weapons in Belarus would put them closer to potential targets in Ukraine and other Eastern European NATO member states. Belarus shares a 1000-kilometer-long border with Ukraine and a 1250-kilometer-long border with three other NATO member states, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland.

Russian forces used Belarus as a launchpad to initiate an attack on Ukraine’s northern regions in February 2022. Deployment of Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus fulfills Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s longstanding request for the deployment of weapons in his country.

^{Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko (L) watch training launches of ballistic missiles as part of the Grom-2022 Strategic Deterrence Force exercise, from the situational center of the Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow on Feb. 19, 2022. (Image Credit: Press Service of the President of the Republic of Belarus)}

Belarus along with Kazakhstan and Ukraine had Soviet nuclear weapons stationed in their territories but handed them over to Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Separately, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said that Beijing would not sell weapons to either side in the war in Ukraine, responding to Western concerns that China could provide military assistance to Russia. China maintains that it is neutral in the conflict while backing Russia politically, rhetorically, and economically.