‘We won’t stop at anything’: Lukashenko promises to deploy strategic nuclear weapons ‘if need be’
Alexander Lukashenko is prepared to deploy not just tactical, but also strategic nuclear weapons in Belarus. The president of Belarus made this clear when addressing the National Assembly on Friday.
Earlier, on March 25, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin announced a plan to position a Russian nuclear-capable Iskander missile system in Belarus. According to Lukashenko, the system has already been handed over to the Belarusian military.
“You heard from the Russian president,” he said, “about the plans for creating a suitable infrastructure on Belarusian territory. I would like to clarify: all the infrastructure has been set up; it’s ready.”
Lukashenko ordered the military to restore the disused launch pads that once supported the nuclear-capable Topol missile systems. “If need be,” he said,
Putin and I will deploy strategic nuclear weapons too. Those lowlifes who are trying to blow us up from abroad, they need to realize we won’t stop at anything to defend our countries, our states, and our populations.
“If they don’t understand any other language,” Lukashenko concluded, “this at least will force them to reckon with our people.”