Moscow’s ambassador in Minsk, Boris Gryzlov, said Russian tactical nuclear weapons, previously announced for deployment in Belarus, will be placed on the border with Poland.

According to Gryzlov, by July 1, the bunkers needed to store the weapons should be ready, adding “this will be done despite the noise in Europe and the U.S.”

“At last people are paying attention to the fact that there should be some parity.

“If we talk about the deployment of U.S. nuclear weapons in Europe, then we have to take measures that will increase the security of our union state [Belarus and Russia],” he said.

Gryzlov said Russia and Belarus are the territory of the Union State, a legalised territory, unlike the territories of countries where the United States stations its nuclear weapons.

“For them, these countries are just puppets, but we have a common space,” Gryzlov said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently announced the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in the neighbouring former Soviet Republic of Belarus, against the backdrop of strong tensions with the West as a result of the Ukraine war.

He justified the deployment by saying that the United States had been doing something similar in Europe for years.

dpa/NAN