RUSSIA’S nuclear missiles have arrived in Belarus, puppet President Alexander Lukashenko said today – as he vowed he “won’t hesitate” to use them.
His chilling threat came as Vladimir Putin warned the US and Europe could be engulfed in a third world war which would have “no winners”.
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The addition of nuclear weapons to Belarus provides Russia with an advantage, as they can now strike within NATO territories.
Lukashenko has claimed the deadly Iskander missiles are three times more powerful than the atomic bombs the US dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
He told Belarusian state television: “God forbid I have to make a decision to use those weapons today, but there would be no hesitation if we face an aggression.”
Belarus borders three NATO member countries: Lithuania, Latvia and Poland, making Lukashenko’s recent threats even more alarming.
In Moscow yesterday, Putin said: “The United States pretends not to be afraid of an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, but sane people there clearly do not want to take this to a Third World War.
“In the event of a Third World War, there will be no winners, including America.”
The movement of the deadly nukes to Belarus is Moscow’s first move of such warheads outside Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union.
The Iskander family of missiles are designed to hit targets at relatively short distances with great power and speed – up to 5,800mph.
The missiles are launched from a vehicle with a three man crew and have a range of just over 300 miles.
They weigh four tons and are 24 feet long with the warhead able to be controlled in flight, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Putin said on Friday that Russia, will continue to deploy the missiles in Belarus after special storage facilities to house them were made ready.
Lukashenko also said Belarus has facilities to host long range nuclear missiles if it’s ever “needed” by Russia.
He said: “I believe no one would be willing to fight a country that has those weapons. Those are weapons of deterrence.”
The 68-year-old former Soviet farm boss has ruled Belarus since 1994, is often referred to as “Europe’s Last Dictator”, and said he didn’t ask Putin for the weapons, but “demanded” them.
Lukashenko said: “We have always been a target… They (the West) have wanted to tear us to pieces since 2020. No one has so far fought against a nuclear country, a country that has nuclear weapons.”
Putin and his pal Lukashenko have repeatedly criticised the west, with Putin bragging yesterday about how easy western tanks are to destroy.
He said: “They burn nicely, as we expected. Ammunition detonates inside, and pieces fly off in different directions.”
Russia’s armed forces first used the Iskander missile system in combat against Georgia in 2008.
Russia has routinely deployed the Iskander to Kaliningrad, where the weapon could target NATO forces in Poland, the Baltic States, and Sweden.
Putin’s latest statements regarding weapons has come as the Russian army continues to flounder in Ukraine.
Incredible footage shows a wave of Ukrainian soldiers climbing out of trenches and advancing on Russian positions in a World War One-style assault.
The boss of the Wagner Group mercenaries, Yevgeny Prigozhin, admitted Ukrainian forces had managed to retake Berkhivka.
But Kyiv’s troops have pushed back Russian lines to the north and south of the city – including in Berkhivka, which lies about 1.9 miles northwest of battered Bakhmut.
Prigozhin fumed: “Now part of the settlement of Berkhivka has already been lost, the troops are quietly running away. Disgrace!”
Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-backed governor of the Donetsk region, which includes Bakhmut, told Russian state TV the situation on the city’s flanks was “under control” but “very difficult”.
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