Russian President Putin is deploying tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus and sending 1,600 new tanks to combat Ukraine, indicating his fears of a counterattack. This move comes as Russia loses about 150 tanks a month, and Putin is attempting to intimidate the West with new threats. The nuclear weapons will be placed next to Poland’s border, posing a threat to European security.

Photo: AFP/SCANPIX/LETA

Russian President Vladimir Putin, accused of war crimes, fears a counterattack from Ukraine. Putin’s latest statements about deploying tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus and sending 1,600 new tanks to the war against Ukraine testify to his fear.

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“Many popular military experts and Russian officials are warning that Ukrainian forces will soon launch a massive counteroffensive. Putin’s actions show that he agrees with this and is afraid of the possible success of the Ukrainian offensive,” said a report by analysts at the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

According to ISW, Russia is losing about 150 tanks every month. Therefore, the Russians need to produce at least 1,350 new ones by the end of the year just to maintain the current level.

Against this background, Putin is trying to intimidate the West with new threats:

“He may have decided to release these messages now in hopes of undermining Ukraine’s morale and limiting Western aid to undermine the effectiveness of Ukraine’s impending counteroffensive.”

It has already been reported that Putin announced the deployment of Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus last month.

The nuclear weapons will be placed next to the border with Poland, said Boriss Gryzlov, Moscow’s ambassador to Minsk.

The bunkers necessary for the placement of these nuclear weapons will be ready on July 1, the official Belarusian news agency BelTA quoted the ambassador as saying.

“It will be done, despite the noise in Europe and the United States,” said the former Russian interior minister and speaker of the lower house of parliament.

Belarus’ authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko announced on Friday that his country is ready to receive Russia’s strategic nuclear weapons.

Tactical nuclear weapons mean bombs and missiles used on the battlefield for close-range attacks, while strategic nuclear weapons can destroy large areas.

NATO called Putin’s statement dangerous and irresponsible, but the high representative of the EU’s foreign and security policy, Joseph Borel, pointed out that the deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus will be a threat to European security.

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