Russia to US: No Nuclear Weapons Deployment Conferences

The Russian embassy calls US criticism of Moscow’s deployment of tactical nukes in Belarus hypocritical, saying “Washington could use a little introspection before blaming others.”

Russia has dismissed US President Joe Biden’s criticism of Moscow’s deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, saying Washington has done the same for decades across Europe.

Russia said on Thursday it was moving forward with the first deployment of such weapons outside its borders since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said the weapons were already on the move.

Biden said Friday that he had an “extremely negative” reaction to reports that Russia went ahead with the deployment to Belarus.

“It is the sovereign right of Russia and Belarus to ensure their security by whatever means we deem necessary in the midst of a full-scale hybrid war unleashed by Washington against us,” the Russian embassy in the United States said in a statement.

“The measures we took are fully consistent with our international legal obligations.”

Tactical nuclear weapons are used for tactical gain on the battlefield and are typically less efficient than strategic nuclear weapons designed to destroy American, European, or Russian cities.

The Russian embassy called US criticism of Moscow’s deployment hypocritical, saying “Washington could use a little soul searching before blaming others.”

“The United States has maintained a large arsenal of its nuclear weapons in Europe for decades. Together with its NATO allies, it participates in nuclear exchange agreements and trains for scenarios of use of nuclear weapons against our country.”

Cold War drawdown

The United States has said the world faces the gravest nuclear danger since 1962. Cuban Missile Crisis due to President Vladimir Putin’s comments during the Ukraine conflict, but Moscow says his position has been misinterpreted.

Putin, who has portrayed the Ukraine war as a battle for Russia’s survival against an aggressive West, has repeatedly warned that Russia, which has more nuclear weapons than any other country, will use all means to defend itself.

The United States has deployed nuclear weapons in Western Europe since US President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorized their deployment in the Cold War as a counter to the perceived threat from the Soviet Union. The first US nuclear weapons in Europe were deployed to Britain in 1954.

Much of the detail about the current US deployment is secret, although the Federation of American Scientists says the US has 100 B61 tactical nuclear weapons deployed in Europe, in Italy, Germany, Turkey, Belgium and the Netherlands.