Russia’s nuclear shield protects Belarus, new arms possible — MFA official

Belarus is reliably protected by Russia’s nuclear shield and may receive the latest types of weapons from Moscow, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Second CIS Department, Alexei Polishchuk, said.

He said in an interview with TASS that the Russian nuclear shield reliably protects Belarus, and the updated legal and contractual framework allows the deployment of any defensive systems, including the newest types of weapons, in the allied republic, Caliber.Az reports.

“We are not aware of any such requests,” Polishchuk responded when asked whether deliveries to Belarus of the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile with unlimited range were possible.

The Foreign Ministry official assured that if such requests were made, “they would be thoroughly examined by military experts, taking into account the unique tactical and technical characteristics of this system.”

“The final decision would be made by the military-political leadership of both countries in the spirit of alliance,” the diplomat noted.

He added that “in light of the tense military-political situation on the western borders, Russia and Belarus have taken measures in recent years to strengthen the common defence and security space of the Union State.”

Belarus and Russia strengthened their strategic military integration when in December 2024 they signed a security-guarantees treaty under the “Union State” framework, which formally allows for Russian nuclear weapons to be used in defence of Belarus.

Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow would deploy tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus in response to NATO support for Ukraine, bringing Russian arms even closer to European borders.

Russian Foreign Ministry official Alexei Polishchuk later reiterated that any aggression against Belarus would be met with “modern Russian defence systems and strategic nuclear weapons,” deployed in the country as part of the joint defence space.

By Jeyhun Aghazada