Ukraine condemns Belarus-Russia nuclear drills
Ukraine’s foreign ministry condemned nuclear weapons exercises in Belarus and said the deployment of tactical weapons in the country poses an “unprecedented challenge” to global security.
“By turning Belarus into a nuclear weapons site close to NATO borders, the Kremlin is effectively legitimizing the proliferation of nuclear weapons worldwide and setting a dangerous precedent for other authoritarian regimes,” the ministry said in a statement. he said.
Belarus said on Monday that its armed forces had begun training exercises involving Russian nuclear weapons.
The Belarusian defense ministry said, “During the training, it is planned to conduct an exercise on the delivery and preparation of nuclear munitions with the cooperation of the Russian side.” he said.
It was stated that the exercise will test whether the army is ready to deploy nuclear weapons in different parts of the country.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko agreed to host Russian tactical nuclear missiles in 2023, a year after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has made clear that Russia retains control over their use.
Ukraine on Monday called on its allies to tighten sanctions against Russia and Belarus over the development: “Such actions must be unequivocally and decisively condemned by all states that respect the nuclear non-proliferation regime.”
Belarus, which shares borders with Russia, Ukraine and three NATO members, said the exercise was not directed at any other country and did not pose a security threat in the region.
Meanwhile, Russian officials expressed concern about what they described as Ukrainian attacks near the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeast Ukraine, warning that risks in the region were increasing.
Alexei Likhachev, head of Russian state nuclear company Rosatom, said the situation around the facility was becoming increasingly dangerous.
“We are approaching the point of no return.”
Russian forces took control of the facility shortly after the start of the invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago.
Russia has since accused Ukraine of launching repeated artillery and drone strikes on the surrounding area.
Likhachev said the situation amounted to “playing with fire” and warned of possible consequences for all of Eastern Europe.
He called for international efforts, including from Europe, to help reduce tensions in the region.
He noted that approximately 2600 tons of nuclear fuel were stored at the facility.
He said there were risks of regional significance, especially in the event of a direct hit to spent fuel storage facilities.
Likhachev said attacks on surrounding facilities amounted to “an escalation of the situation to the point of disaster.”
According to Russian reports, several buses were damaged or destroyed in an artillery attack on a vehicle depot in the area over the weekend.
Zaporizhia is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, with six reactors and a capacity of approximately 6000 megawatts.
It does not currently produce electricity.
The International Atomic Energy Agency maintains a permanent monitoring mission at the site to reduce the risk of nuclear accidents.
with DPA
