Lukashenko says Russia has begun moving nuclear weapons to Belarus

Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday that Russia had begun moving nuclear weapons to its ally Belarus, after Russian leader Vladimir Putin announced plans to transfer them in March.

“The transfer of nuclear munitions has begun,” Lukashenko said in an official video, adding it was “possible” that the weapons were already in his country.

Reacting to the development, exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said that Russia’s transfer of nuclear weapons to her country’s territory represented a threat to Europe and Ukraine.

“Today, the Belarus regime has signed an agreement with Russia on the deployment of nuclear weapons. It would not only endanger the lives of Belarusians but also create a new threat against Ukraine and all of Europe,” Tikhanovskaya said in an English-language Twitter post.