Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus who’s closely aligned with Russian President Vladimir Putin, warned potential intruders “that if they set foot on the Belarussian soil, they will get an instant response with all kinds of weapons.”
In making that threat this week, Lukashenko didn’t rule out the possibility of using nuclear weapons against any country that might decide to go into Belarus.
Belarus has stood by Russia the entire time during its ongoing war with Ukraine. Lukashenko has also been credited with brokering a deal between Putin and Yevgeny Prigozhin, the one-time leader of the Wagner Group who has since passed away.
That negotiation happened when Prigozhin was leading an armed mutiny into Russia last June.
Last summer, Putin deployed tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, which showed how strong the ties between the two nations’ leaders are. Lukashenko made note of those Russian weapons when speaking on Thursday to the 7th Belarusian People’s Congress, saying that he wouldn’t hesitate to put them to use if need be.
According to BelTA, a state-owned news agency in Belarus, the president said the Russian nuclear weapons serve as a deterrent to neighboring countries that are “armed to the teeth” and have deployed some of their troops near Belarus’ borders.
As Lukashenko said:
“How can we deter them? Well, here come nuclear weapons. We do not threaten anyone with nuclear weapons. We are not attacking anyone. This idle talk about Putin placing them [nuclear weapons in Belarus], and Lukashenko not using them if a war starts against Belarus, is nonsense. You know me well.
“They also know very well that if they set foot on the Belarusian soil, they will get an instant response with all kinds of weapons from us, including from the Russian Federation. You have recently heard President Putin’s statement that an attack on Belarus will be regarded as an attack on the Russian Federation. Therefore, today we are fully determined to counter any aggressor and inflict unacceptable damage on an adversary.”
BelTA further reported that Lukashenko said that having the nuclear weapons deployed by Putin into Belarus fits right into the doctrine of the country, which is to have the ability to destroy any of its enemies if it needs to.
As the leader said:
“Even before nuclear weapons were deployed in Belarus, we were intent on inflicting unacceptable damage upon them. I want them to realize that we can strike so much that it will be unacceptable for them.”
To this point, no other country has entered Belarus as part of the war between Ukraine and Russia. Only Russia has done so, in fact.
In the early parts of the war, Russia sent soldiers through Belarus to invade northern Ukraine.
It seems unlikely that Ukraine or any of its western allies would consider invading Belarus, as that would be a significant increase in the intensity and the scope of the war. This is especially true as no other ally of Ukraine’s has done anything except for provide it with military and financial aid.
