US sees no signs Russia has moved tactical nukes after Belarus announcement

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US has not detected any signs that Russia has begun to move tactical nuclear weapons, the White House said Monday after President Vladimir Putin ordered the deployment of doomsday weapons to Belarus.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the Biden administration has not "seen any movement of any tactical nuclear weapons or anything of that kind since this announcement, and we certainly haven't seen any indication that Mr. Putin has made some sort of decision to to use weapons of mass destruction, let alone nuclear weapons inside Ukraine."

"We're continuing to monitor this very, very closely. And still we have seen nothing that would cause us to change our strategic deterrent posture," he told reporters on a virtural briefing.

Putin announced on Saturday that Russia will complete the construction of a special storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, sparking concern and condemnation from Ukraine and its Western allies.

Putin said his counterpart Alexander Lukashenko had long raised the issue.

“The US has long placed such weapons in a number of countries, so there is nothing unusual in Belarus’s request,” the Russian leader said.

He said Russia has already handed over Iskander missile systems, which can be used to launch nuclear weapons, to Belarus.

Russia will have completed the construction of a storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus by July 1 and the control of arms will not be transferred to Minsk, Putin added.