HOW AND WHERE
As often with nuclear policy, few details of the Russian plans have been made public, leaving many unanswered questions.
For instance, it is unclear how the weapons would be delivered if the order to use them in anger ever came.
Putin said that "10 (Belarusian) planes are ready for this type of weapon to be used" and that Russia has also sent a nuclear-capable Iskander missile system.
Moscow will start training crews on Apr 3 and plans to finish the construction of a special storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons by Jul 1.
"So far there is no sign of this construction work. It seems relatively unlikely that it can be completed in three months," said Marc Finaud, deputy president of the France-based Initiatives for Nuclear Disarmament (IDN).
"We can be confident that all the world's spy satellites are scanning Belarus" to see how far Putin's announcements are reflected in reality, he added.
Independent Russian expert Pavel Podvig said: "It is very unlikely - in my view impossible - that actual nuclear weapons will be moved to Belarus."
WHICH PUTIN TO BELIEVE?
While Putin has been dangling the threat of nuclear war, Russia's doctrine for the use of nuclear weapons has not changed.
And the post-invasion rhetoric goes against previous promises by Moscow.
In January 2022 Russia signed a declaration alongside the other permanent members of the UN Security Council that "a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought".
Although global politics has since undergone an epochal shift, Putin struck a similar note last week during the visit to Moscow by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who has refrained from publically supporting the invasion.
"There can be no winners in a nuclear war, and it must never be unleashed," the two said in the joint declaration.
Former diplomat Finaud noted that the Chinese and Russian leaders also pledged that "no nuclear weapon should be stationed on foreign soil".
Putin is "violating Russia's own constantly stated position", he added.
PROLIFERATION
As often when Putin raises the rhetorical temperature, Western governments sought to project calm.
"We have not seen any indication that he (Putin) has made good on this pledge or moved any nuclear weapons around," US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Sunday.
"For now it's just an announcement. There's no immediate danger of nuclear use," Finaud agreed - while warning that any movement of warheads risks falling foul of human error, hijacking or accidents.
There is also a clear downside for Putin in making nuclear threats too often.
"All of the huffing and puffing about nuclear weapons drives up demand for deterrence in NATO countries, too," Lewis said.
"That's largely why you see Sweden and Finland seeking security through NATO membership".
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) on Monday recalled that so-called "tactical" weapons can reach an explosive force of up to 100 kilotonnes - compared with just 16 for the bomb that "destroyed Hiroshima and killed 140,000 people" in August 1945.
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiYGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vd29ybGQvcnVzc2lhLXBsYW4tbnVrZXMtYmVsYXJ1cy1yYWlzZS1xdWVzdGlvbnMtYW5hbHlzdHMtMzM3NzM0NtIBAA?oc=5
2023-03-27 14:12:00Z
1870983156
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar