Putin Deploys Nuclear Weapons in Belarus, Breaching Agreement With China

Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and Chinese leader Xi Jinping enter a hall during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on March 21, 2023. (Alexey Maishev/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)

Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed on June 16 that he had delivered the first batch of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, three months after announcing the plan. Political analysts say Putin’s move is a slap in the face to Chinese leader Xi Jinping and ruined the Chinese regime’s attempts to masquerade as a war mediator, as Putin has unilaterally torn up an agreement between China and Russia that opposes the transfer of nuclear weapons to a third country.

“We have acquired missiles and bombs from Russia,” Lukashenko said in a media interview on June 13.

Lukashenko boasted that some of these weapons were three times more powerful than the atomic bombs the United States dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan in 1945. He also claimed that there is currently no need to deploy strategic nuclear weapons in Belarus. This is the first time Russia has deployed the shorter-range, less powerful nuclear weapons outside its territory since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Lukashenko is a close ally of Putin. He told Russian state television that Belarus has many nuclear storage facilities left over from the Soviet era, and has rehabilitated five or six of them. He also said he has the facilities to deploy long-range missiles if needed.

Putin confirmed the deployment while speaking at a Russian economic forum in St. Petersburg, Russia.

“The first nuclear warheads were delivered to the territory of Belarus. But only the first ones, the first part. But we will do this job completely by the end of the summer or by the end of the year,” Putin said.

The move aggravates Russia’s confrontation with the U.S. and NATO military alliance, which has provided Ukraine with billions of dollars worth of weaponry to help Ukraine repel the Russian invasion forces.

China-Russia Joint Statement Becomes Empty Promise

Putin’s joint agreement with Xi signed on March 21 articulated that “all nuclear powers must not deploy nuclear weapons outside their national territories.”

From March 20 to 22, shortly after Xi secured his third term in office, he visited Russia and emphasized the importance of Sino-Russian relations in the foreign policy of both countries.

On the afternoon of March 21, Xi and Putin signed and issued a joint statement, declaring that “with the unremitting efforts of both sides, the China-Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Coordination for a New Era has reached the highest level in history and continues to move forward.” The statement also said that China and Russia regard each other as “priority cooperative partners,” and that Russia needs China and China needs Russia.

On the issue of nuclear weapons, the two sides reaffirmed in the statement that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought” and that “all nuclear powers must not deploy nuclear weapons outside their national territories and must withdraw all their nuclear weapons placed abroad.” Both sides also stressed their commitment to the NPT and their continued cooperation.

Beijing’s Attempt to Play War Mediator Has Failed

Li Yuanhua, a former professor at Capital Normal University, said in an interview with The Epoch Times that Putin’s deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus is actually a demonstration to the United States and free society, implying that he will use nuclear weapons if he is at a disadvantage on the battlefield. This also directly led to the bankruptcy of the CCP’s hypocritical pretense as a war mediator.

Li believes that the agreement signed by Putin and Xi was the result of mutual exploitation between the two regimes, and that no one took the signed agreement seriously.

“Russia has not kept its promises, but at the same time, Xi Jinping’s promises to Putin may not all be honored, so both sides know it well. The treaty is only a superficial measure, put on display for other countries to see,” he said.

He pointed out that Russia, a nuclear power, is currently facing a strong counteroffensive from Ukraine and is at a military disadvantage.

“Now Russia not only deploys nuclear weapons at home, but also outside its territory. This actually shows its intention to confront the free world,“ he said. “Moreover, now that Russia has unilaterally broken the agreement, it is a blatant slap in the face of the Chinese Communist Party, which has gone bankrupt in its attempt to masquerade as a war mediator. This incident also reminds the world that the possession of nuclear weapons by authoritarian dictatorships poses a great threat to world peace.”

U.S.-based China expert Tang Jingyuan told The Epoch Times on June 17 that when Putin and Xi signed the agreement, the provision that nuclear weapons must not be deployed abroad was actually aimed at the United States, which is the only country that has deployed some of its tactical nuclear weapons in Europe, but that was a legacy of the Cold War to counter the Soviet Union’s nuclear threat.

“Putin is now deploying nuclear weapons abroad during wars of invading other countries, which is equivalent to giving Xi Jinping a slap in the face. In other words, he is not only blatantly breaking his own promise and the international treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, but also showing that he does not really take Xi Jinping seriously,” Tang said.

Putin’s Move a Sign of Escalation

According to Tang, the most fundamental reason for Putin’s deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus is that Russia is becoming increasingly passive on the Ukrainian battlefield. With Ukraine’s counterattack, Russia may not only lose the land it has occupied, but even its homeland may be hit. Therefore, Putin needs to make such a move as a way of military blackmail, with the purpose of forcing NATO to limit military aid to Ukraine.

“This is also the first time since the end of the Cold War that a nuclear power has deployed nuclear weapons to other countries, which has seriously undermined the Non-Proliferation Treaty and may force some of the weaker countries to take an extra layer of concern when it comes to military assistance to Ukraine,” Tang said.

“But on the other hand, this move also exposed Putin’s weakness, indicating that his increasingly difficult situation on the battlefield has seriously affected the security of his power position. The expansion of nuclear weapons deployment is basically his last card, strictly speaking he does not really want to use nuclear weapons to win the war, but to use nuclear weapons to keep his position,” he continued.

He also said that for the CCP, Putin’s move can be described as both good and bad.

The good news is that Russia’s nuclear blackmail has escalated, which can further attract the attention of the United States and Europe, thus reducing the pressure on the CCP itself.

The bad news is that Putin does not really respect Xi Jinping, and does not care whether the interests of the CCP will be damaged. He only cares about his own interests, which is bound to significantly weaken the foundation of Xi Jinping’s alliance with Russia to resist the United States. Moreover, if a major defeat of the Russian army endangers Putin’s regime, the CCP cannot rule out the possibility of Putin taking reckless moves, which could drag the CCP into a war beyond its control, thus leading to a regime crisis for the CCP itself.

Kane Zhang contributed to this report.