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The movement of nuclear weapons within touching distance of NATO's borders on the eve of its summit is highlighted. Putin will hope it serves as a timely reminder to Biden, Sunak and other global leaders of what they are up against as they sit down to discuss war.
Days before NATO leaders descend on Vilnius for the alliance's annual summit next month, things will be happening just across the border in Belarus. In a meeting with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko at his summer residence in Sochi on Friday, Putin revealed that Russia will begin deploying nuclear weapons in the country on the weekend of July 7 and 8.
Putin's decision to move nuclear weapons to Belarus just three days before the start of the NATO summit in Lithuania is almost certainly no coincidence. As the alliance to which he is regularly drawn prepares to sit down to discuss defense and deterrence, the Russian president is metaphorically puffing his chest to remind them that it is worth taking seriously, in fact.
"On the most sensitive issues we have agreed on," Putin told Lukashenko, "everything is going according to plan. As you know, on July 7 and 8, the preparation of the relevant facilities will be completed and we will immediately begin the measures related to the placement of the relevant types of weapons in your territory. So everything is according to plan, everything is stable.'
Those who don't usually follow Putin's every move would be forgiven for having no idea what he's talking about. If the topic of conversation were not weapons of mass destruction, his cartoonish conspiratorial vagueness about 'sensitive matters', 'relevant objects' and 'masses' would seem almost comical.
However, the reason we know that the "relevant types of weapons" Putin mentions are of the nuclear type is because of an announcement the Russian president made three months ago. In March, during an interview on Russian TV, Putin revealed his intention to transfer nuclear weapons to Belarus.
Putin insisted that the deployment would not violate the terms of the international treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons (NPT). He had made the decision, he said, in response to the United Kingdom's announcement that it would provide Ukraine with depleted uranium shells.
In a classic example of Putin's victim complex, he said it was nothing the US hadn't already been doing with its allies for years: 'We're basically doing everything they've been doing for decades.' In other words. , he was saying, they started it. Lukashenko, if we are to believe Putin, "had been asking for this for a long time."
Curious, then, that Lukashenko will not actually retain any control over these weapons. As Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu confirmed last month, "Russia is not transferring nuclear weapons to the Republic of Belarus: control over them and the decision to use them remains in the hands of the Russian side." It is this technique that means Putin has the right to say. the movement of nuclear weapons in Belarus does not officially violate the terms of the NPT.
But this technique is, indeed, of little consolation. The reality is that nuclear weapons will be deployed in Lukashenko's country and he will have no control over when, why and how they are used.
Despite Putin's and Lukashenko's assurances, what they insist is a request by the Belarusian leader that these weapons be moved into the country would almost certainly have been in fact an order from the Russian president for Belarus to keep them. The likelihood that Lukashenko had any involvement in this decision is small; With this, if there was any doubt before, Lukashenko's transition to Putin's puppet is complete.
This announcement by Putin comes a few days after the start of the Ukrainian counter-offensive. Indeed, even he admitted that it had begun, although he did his best to maintain that the Ukrainian military had not had any success so far.
The movement of nuclear weapons in Belarus does not suggest, however, that Putin is more likely to deploy them in Ukraine or anywhere else. This antagonistic move of his is certainly intended to increase tensions with NATO; So far, the muted response from the alliance suggests they are doing their best not to rise to the bait. But some experts have speculated whether it serves another purpose as a useful negotiating tool when it comes time for talks with Ukraine and the West.
However, whether delayed by chance or design, the date on which the weapons will be transferred is not irrelevant: just three days later, world leaders will gather at the NATO summit to discuss defense spending and how to Ukraine is further supported. Ukraine's potential membership in the alliance is also likely to feature in the talks.
The movement of nuclear weapons within touching distance of NATO's borders on the eve of its summit is highlighted. Putin will hope it serves as a timely reminder to Biden, Sunak and other global leaders of what they are up against as they sit down to discuss war.
However, disappointment is all that awaits him if he thinks his nuclear realignment will prevent NATO from helping Ukraine./The Spectator
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