The autocratic ruler of the former Soviet republic of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has accused NATO of planning an attack on his country and has threatened the use of nuclear weapons.
“An attack on Belarus means World War III,” the Belarusian president said, according to the state news agency BelTA, during an appearance before students in Minsk.
Both Belarus and its close ally Russia would use nuclear weapons in such a case, he said. Lukashenko thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for the recent change to the Russian nuclear doctrine.
During his speech at the State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics, Lukashenko claimed that NATO harbours concrete attack plans against Belarus.
“Americans and Poles have already positioned themselves along the border, particularly at the Polish one. We know that the Polish leadership is already rubbing their hands,” he said.
Belarus was prepared for the event and would respond immediately, he said. As NATO could counter the use of nuclear weapons with its own nuclear strikes, Russia would deploy its entire arsenal. Lukashenko stated that the West is not ready for such an escalation.
Belarus is not a nuclear power itself; however, since the end of 2023, tactical nuclear weapons from Russia have been stationed on its territory. Lukashenko spoke in April of several dozen nuclear warheads.
Belarus has also received Russian Iskander missiles, which can be equipped with nuclear warheads. Su-25 combat jets have also been converted into carrier weapons.
While Moscow claims command over the nuclear weapons stationed in Belarus, Lukashenko has already incorporated the use of nuclear weapons into his country’s military doctrine.
On Wednesday, Putin stated that Russia had adjusted its military doctrine due to the international security situation. Russia’s list of military threats against which nuclear weapons can be used for deterrence has been expanded, Putin said during a meeting of the National Security Council in Moscow.
The change is seen as a response to the debate over granting far-reaching weapons to Ukraine in its defence against Russia’s war.
The new doctrine increases the risk, especially for Western nuclear powers like the United States and France, of becoming targets of a Russian counterstrike, should they support non-nuclear countries like Ukraine in an aggression against Russia.
Source Agencies
