U.S. Intelligence has no doubt that Russia's nuclear weapons are already in Belarus - CNN
Vladimir Puting and Alexander Lukashenko (Photo: kremlin.ru)
The United States Intelligence has no doubts about the statement made by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin claiming that Russia has already moved the first batch of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, reports CNN.
Last month, during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the dictator stated that "the first nuclear warheads were delivered to the territory of Belarus." He added that they were supposedly deployed there for "deterrence" purposes.
According to the Federation of American Scientists, Russia possesses around 4,477 deployed and reserve nuclear warheads, including approximately 1,900 tactical nuclear warheads.
High-ranking intelligence officials, during conversations with journalists, stated that they have "no reason to doubt" Putin's claim.
"The officials would not disclose why they believe that. They acknowledged that the weapons are difficult for the US intelligence community to track, even through satellite imagery," the article states.
CNN noted that some Western sources were skeptical at the beginning of the month about Belarus completing the necessary upgrades to accommodate tactical nuclear weapons. However, other sources reported that there are various facilities dating back to Soviet times in the country, where some portion of tactical nuclear weapons could potentially be located.
Last week, the UK Defense Minister, Ben Wallace, stated that Putin "doesn't always lie" and added that his country had seen signs of the movement of nuclear weapons.
"I will say that we continue to actively monitor reports of the Russia-Belarus arrangement to ensure that Russia maintains control of its weapons in the event of any deployment to Belarus and upholds its obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. We will be paying close attention to any deviation by Russia," said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.
However, intelligence experts do not believe that Alexander Lukashenko will have any control over the nuclear arsenal, and it is likely to be fully controlled by Russia.
"The DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency - Ed.) officials also said they do not believe the movement of the weapons to Belarus would alter the global nuclear landscape or increase the risk of a nuclear incident, because they would be in storage rather than forward deployed, and controlled by Russian forces," the article adds.
As Miller emphasized, the United States has no plans to adjust its nuclear posture and does not see any signs that Russia might use the warheads.
