President Vladimir Putin said Russia has delivered its first tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, three months after announcing the plan that threatens to ratchet up tensions with the U.S. and its allies over the war in Ukraine.
“The first nuclear charges were delivered to the territory of Belarus. But only the first,” Putin said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday. “This is the first part. But by the end of the summer, by the end of the year, we will complete this work.”
Asked about Putin’s announcement Friday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. sees no need to change its defensive stance as a result of the deployment.
