Kremlin threatens to equip Belarusian warplanes with ‘nuclear missile capability’

Russia has threatened to equip Belarusian warplanes with nuclear missile capability after Russian soldiers poured in “by trainload” on Saturday.

Although the Kremlin claimed the action was part of a defensive operation, some commentators believe Putin is trying to involve Belarus – a country bordering both Russia and Ukraine – in his war, the Telegraph reports.

Russia’s defense ministry said the decision to send soldiers to Belarus, for the first time since March, was “dictated by continued activity in the areas bordering us.”

Belarus and Russia reportedly began combining some of their armed forces shortly after the explosion on the Kerch Bridge – which connects Russian-occupied Crimea to the Russian mainland, according to Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko.

The Belarusian border, which is 140 miles from Kiev, was used as a launch pad for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February.

On Saturday, Russia’s foreign ministry said it would equip Belarusian Su-25 fighter jets with the capability to carry nuclear missiles, but it had not yet armed Minsk, the Belarusian capital, with the missiles.

With an army size of about 50,000, Belarus currently has no nuclear missiles of its own and is not considered an effective military force by defense experts.

According to the latest reports from officials from Moscow and Minsk, Ukraine is now planning to invade Belarus.

This comes as Belarus ordered its troops to be tested for “combat readiness.”

Dictator Alexander Lukashenko announced earlier this week that he would deploy a “joint military task force” with Moscow – a move that Minsk also says is “purely defensive”.

The combat readiness test, ordered by Lukashenko, was announced as the head of his secret service said he expected a “turning point” in Vladimir Putin’s invasion in the coming months.

Belarus’ news agency BelTA reported on Tuesday that the Security Council of the Republic of Belarus had “begun a test of Belarus’ armed forces in accordance with the head of state’s instructions” — echoing Russian rhetoric that led to the invasion. of Ukraine, in which Russia claimed it was conducting military exercises on the border.

“The test is comprehensive and covers key issues related to the readiness of army units to perform their missions,” the agency reported, noting that units will practice “switching to combat-ready state” as they conduct march, deployment and combat exercises. to carry out. training missions.

During the combat readiness test, the Belarusian army tested its mobilization procedures and called up reservists.

According to reports, up to 60 T-72 tanks had been taken from storage in Belarus and sent to Belgorod in Russia, near the border with Ukraine.

However, a Belarusian NGO downplayed concerns about another Russian ground attack on Kiev from Minsk. It said the Russian soldiers were newly mobilized men sent to bases across Belarus without tanks or armored personnel carriers.

“It can be assumed that the decision to deploy a ‘regional grouping of troops’ is a cover for training mobilized citizens of the Russian Federation in Belarus,” the Belarusian Hajun project said. oversees military activities.

The latter alliance has caused a furore in Europe, with the European Commission urging Belarus to abstain from any involvement in Russia’s “cruel illegal enterprise” that violated the United Nations Charter and international law.

G7 leaders said today that Lukashenko’s plan to deploy joint forces with Russia is another example of complicity with Moscow, and warned Minsk to allow “stopping” Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.

“The announcement of a joint military group with Russia is the latest example of the Belarus regime’s complicity with Russia,” they said in a statement, urging the “Lukashenko regime to fully abide by its obligations under international law’.

Lukashenko was a staunch ally of the Russian president and openly supported his war in Ukraine.

In addition to allowing Russia to invade Ukraine from Belarus at the start of the war, he has also allowed the Russian Air Force to fire missiles at Ukraine from Belarusian airspace.

However, he has filed a complaint complaining that the war has gone on too long and has so far avoided deploying Belarusian troops.

The invasion of Ukraine is much less popular in Belarus than in Russia. Domestic support for Lukashenko is also fragile.

However, analysts have warned that if Putin ordered Lukansheko to join the war, he would obey.

“Joining the war on Ukraine would provoke even more outrage against his highly unpopular government, but his main and only significant supporter, Putin, wants him to support this failed invasion,” said Kenneth Roth, the former director of the New York-based Human Rights Watch.

Lukashenko said during his speech on Monday that Kiev poses a clear threat to his country.

The comments of Lukashenko, who has held power in Belarus since 1994, point to a combined Russian-Belarusian joint force in northern Ukraine.

“Strikes on the territory of Belarus are not only discussed in Ukraine today, but are also planned,” Lukashenko said at a security meeting, without providing evidence for the claim.

“Their owners are forcing them to start a war against Belarus to drag us there.”

‘We have been preparing for this for decades. We will respond if necessary,” Lukashenko said, adding that he had discussed the situation with Putin at a meeting in St. Petersburg.

Lukashenko said he had agreed with Putin to deploy a regional military group, and that he had begun to rally troops two days ago, apparently after an attack on Russia’s road and rail bridge to Crimea early Saturday.

He said Belarus had received a warning through unofficial channels that Ukraine was planning “Crimea Bridge 2”, although he did not provide details.

“My answer was simple: ‘Tell the President of Ukraine and the other lunatics: if they touch one meter from our territory, the Crimean Bridge will seem like a walk in the park to them’.”