By Stuti Mishra
Lukashenko asked Putin to help in bolstering Belarus’ defence to combat what he said were nuclear-armed flights by Nato
Vladimir Putin has said Russia will supply nuclear-capable Iskander-M missile systems to its ally Belarus on Ukraine’s border.
“In the coming months, we will transfer to Belarus Iskander-M tactical missile systems, which can use ballistic or cruise missiles, in their conventional and nuclear versions,” Mr Putin said in a meeting held with Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko on Saturday in St Petersburg.
The announcement came the same day Ukraine said it came under a “massive bombardment” of missile strikes launched from Belarusian territory, despite the latter not officially being a party to the conflict.
Belarus said it requested the missile systems, as well as an upgrade to its air force, because it had concerns about what it called the “aggressive”, “confrontational” and “repulsive” policies of its Nato-member neighbours Lithuania and Poland.
Mr Lukashenko asked Mr Putin to help in bolstering Belarus’ defence to combat what he said were nuclear-armed flights by the US-led Nato alliance near Belarus’s borders.
“Minsk must be ready for anything, even the use of serious weaponry to defend our fatherland from Brest to Vladivostok,” he said, putting Belarus and its close ally Russia under one umbrella.
In particular, he asked for help to make Belarus’s military aircraft nuclear-capable.
The details and logistics of the weapons transfer would be discussed by the defence ministers of the two countries later, the Russian president said in his televised address.
The Iskander-M is a mobile guided…
