(PatriotPostNews.com) – New satellite images provide additional insight into where Russia could be keeping the nuclear weapons in Belarus.
Photographic evidence from a munitions depot shows that Russia is upgrading its locations in central Belarus that are suspected to be used to keep the warheads. Should the country move its ammunition outside its borders, it would be the first time it has done so since 1991, when the Soviet Union fell apart.
The presumed nuclear moves come amid Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine, which began when the nation, under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin, invaded its neighbor in February 2022. Since then, Russia has stored nuclear weapons near the border of Ukraine and fellow countries in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
However, shifting their storage to Belarus indicates the intention of heightening the reality of its threat with the ammunition and increasing its nuclear deterrent. The anticipated move comes more than a year after Putin announced a deal with Russia’s ally to store nuclear weapons in Belarus, seeking to deter Western allies of Ukraine from increasing their military support of the embattled country.
The agreement between Russia and Belarus also maintained that the Kremlin would remain in control of the weapons, despite their relocation out of its borders. According to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1970, nuclear ammunition is not permitted to be transferred to non-nuclear allies. However, moving nuclear weapons to countries abroad is permitted as long as the nation that owns the weapons stays in control of the materials.
The war in Ukraine has stirred up considerable controversy in the United States, which, though an ally of the embattled country, has seen serious division in Congress over providing additional funding for Ukraine before securing America’s own border.
A representative from the United States Department of State did not specify that the country is watching any particular location in Belarus but indicated that it is monitoring the situation to ensure that Russia “maintains control” of the weapons and “upholds its obligations” under the treaty.
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