Ukraine calls for UN meeting to end Russia’s “nuclear blackmail”

Ukraine has called for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council to end Russian “nuclear blackmail” after Vladimir Putin announced he would deploy tactical nuclear missiles in Belarus.

Source: AFP

“Ukraine expects from the United Kingdom, China, the United States and France effective actions to counteract the nuclear blackmail of the Kremlin.“, which is the fifth permanent member of the Security Council, indicated the ukrainian foreign ministry it’s a statement.

“We ask that, to this end, an extraordinary meeting of the UN Security Council be convened immediately“added the ministry, urging the G7 and the EU to put pressure on Belarus.

The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, warned on Sunday that the EU was “ready” to adopt new sanctions against Belarus if it allows the deployment in its territory of Russian nuclear weapons.

For his part, the spokesman for the White House National Security Council, John Kirby, said that there was nothing at this time that would make the United States “change (its) position in terms of strategic deterrence”.

“Russia’s nuclear rhetoric is dangerous and irresponsible“, estimated on Sunday the NATO spokeswoman, Oana Lungescu. The Atlantic Alliance “follow the situation closely”he added.

“NUCLEAR HOSTAGE”

Since a year ago, Russian authorities multiply threats to use nuclear weapons if there is an escalation in the conflict.

President Vladimir Putin announced on Saturday that was going to deploy “tactical” nuclear weapons in Belarus – with borders with Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, three countries of the European Union (EU) and NATO – and that 10 aircraft had already been equipped to use this type of weapon.

“There is nothing unusual here. The United States has been doing that for decades.: Deploys tactical nuclear weapons for a long time on the territory of its allies,” he said in an interview broadcast on Russian television.

“We have decided to do the same”he added, assuring that already had the approval of Lukashenko.

The United States stores weapons with nuclear components at its bases in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey.

According to the secretary of the Ukrainian Security and Defense Council, Oleksii Danilov, “the Kremlin has taken Belarus hostage nuclear”.

Moscow will start training crews on April 3 and plans to finish the construction of a special storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus on July 1, according to Putin.

SHELLS OF DEPLETED URANIUM

Although Minsk is not directly involved in the conflict with Ukraine, Moscow has used its territory to carry out its offensive last year or to carry out bombing, according to kyiv.

Putin decided to send nuclear weapons to this former Soviet republic after the UK mentioned the possibility of delivering depleted uranium shells to Ukraine.

“Russia, of course, has something to respond with. We have, without exaggeration, tens of thousands of these types of howitzers. At the moment, we have not used them,” Putin declared.

Is about weapons that “can be classified as the most harmful and dangerous to humans (…) and for the environment”, he warned.

“Tactical” nuclear weapons are less powerful than “strategic” ones.but its effects are also deadly and unpredictable.

The use of depleted uranium ammunition it implies toxic risks for the military and the population of the areas where it is used.

In the recent negotiations in Moscow between Putin and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinpingboth rulers declared in a joint communiqué that A nuclear war must “never be declared”.

But several Russian officials, including former President Dmitri Medvedev, have threatened with nuclear weapons on multiple occasions since the start of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Putin last month suspended the Russia’s participation in the New START nuclear disarmament treaty that it had signed with the United Statesalthough he promised Respect the limits of your nuclear arsenal until the effective end of the agreement, on February 5, 2026.