"Russia to Deploy Tactical Nukes to Belarus" Topic

Putin has decided to redeploy tactical nukes to Belarus:

link

Apparently, there are at least 10 Russian aircraft already in the country that are capable of carrying tactical nukes.

Seems a pity we scrapped all of those Honest John and Pershing II missiles, amongst others, so we could respond in kind, when/if needed both in Europe, Taiwan, South Korea, and in Japan.

Might be a good idea to resurrect production once again, for a credible and strong detterence capability.

B-52s can carry 20 AGM-86B nuclear armed cruise missiles with a 1500 mile range and a yield of 50 to 150 kilotonnes of TNT. Doesn't even need to be close to the battlefield to reach out and touch someone.

Remember the Cuban Missile Crisis?
Ever wonder why the USSR decided to install nuclear missiles in Cuba?

Does anyone think it might have had anything to do with the US earlier installation of nuclear missiles in Turkey along its border with the USSR?

Was it a coincidence that the agreement reached between Khrushchev and Kennedy to end the crisis involved a mutual withdrawal of both sets of missile installations from each other's borders.

It's always nice to have both sides of the story.

Just saying.

B

The other side of the story, I believe, is a response to Poland saying they might intervene if the Ukrainian army fails. Stationing these weapons in Belarus, I think, is an obvious threat towards Poland, and to dissuade Polish military adventurism in Ukraine (yes, Kalinningrad would be a better place, but Russia is blocked from moving equipment to there by land, so Belarus is the next best location, without looking too provocative, perhaps).

The stated reason Russia is moving these weapons to Belarus is because of the declaration of the UK to supply DU ammo for their Challenger II tanks. Anyone who has absolutely no knowledge about how these things work would see this as a provocation. So this excuse is, IMHO for internal consumption.

Damon.

TASS in 2018: Upgrading Russian tanks to fire depleted uranium ammunition "does not violate any international treaties"
TASS in 2023: UK providing Ukraine with depleted uranium ammunition "violates the fundamentals norms of international law"

Tally Ho!

More Putin postering, saber rattling, etc. … again …

So this excuse is, IMHO for internal consumption.

Bingo !

B-52s can carry 20 AGM-86B nuclear armed cruise missiles with a 1500 mile range and a yield of 50 to 150 kilotonnes of TNT. Doesn't even need to be close to the battlefield to reach out and touch someone.

Exactly ! I hope our "enemies" remember this. The USAF could turn places on the planet into the dark side of the moon. Along with USN Boomers, Missile Silos, etc.

I hope Putin at least gave Lukashenko a nice big 💋 first.

This is just the sort of thing to inflame the Belarusian opposition. All Putin needs right now is to have to siphon off assets from his adventure in Ukraine to try to prop up Lukashenko.

Blutarski, that's not how it works. We get the edition to read and heed. Get with the program young man!

Exactly ! I hope our "enemies" remember this.

It's like the cop stopping the suicidal guy from shooting himself in the head by threatening to shoot himself.

link

Striker +1

Meh. Much ado about nothing. Russia has very limited options to respond to arms transfers to Ukraine and can only choose between various empty bluster and/or posturing.

Putin is once again pounding his chest for local consumption. We can't underestimate him, but he must know even tossing around a couple of Tac Nukes would not be to his advantage.

Yes this sounds like a terrible idea all the way round. It not good Lukashenko because he has his own dissents and this will just add fuel to fire. And ultimately it want be good to Putin as Lukashenko's people maybe incline to keep these hoping to sell them later.

And ultimately it want be good to Putin as Lukashenko's people maybe incline to keep these hoping to sell them later.

For clarification, the weapons mentioned are not going to be passed directly into Byelorussian hands, but instead are going to be held by the Russian troops deployed into Byelorussia (of which there are thousands).

Of course, if there were to be a major uprising against Lukashenko's government and the close relations with Russia, then there could be a chance of the weapons ending up in local hands before they can be shipped away. However, both Lukashenko and Putin seem to be prepared to do pretty much everything in their power to stop such an uprising.

And as previously mentioned, these are tactical nukes – though those can still do big enough bang in the wrong hands.

For clarification, the weapons mentioned are not going to be passed directly into Byelorussian hands, but instead are going to be held by the Russian troops deployed into Byelorussia (of which there are thousands).

Yes that is how I understood it. Putin is not going to give his Nukes to anyone. And as we know Belarus is a puppet of Putin. He is just using it as a staging area/launch site. Along with the thousands of Russian troops there as well to protect those nukes and loom across the border on the flank the Ukraine.

Of course, if there were to be a major uprising against Lukashenko's government and the close relations with Russia, then there could be a chance of the weapons ending up in local hands

I think at this point that is highly unlikely to happen.