The defence ministers of Russia and Belarus on Thursday signed a document on the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, Russian state-owned news agency TASS reported.
Moscow will retain control over the weapons and any decisions on their use, it quoted Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu as saying. Russia and Belarus, which are close allies over the conflict in Ukraine, agreed earlier this year to deploy part of Moscow’s tactical nuclear arsenal in Belarus.
Separately, Russian media reported Shoigu as saying the West was waging an “undeclared war” against Russia and Belarus.
Meanwhile, Russia’s internal spy agency said on Thursday it had detained two Ukrainian saboteurs plotting to blow up the power lines of two nuclear power stations to shut down the reactors and embarrass Russia on the eve of this month’s Victory Day holiday.
The Federal Security Service (FSB), the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said that the saboteurs working for Ukrainian foreign intelligence had laid explosives on a total of 11 pylons of the Leningrad and Kalinin nuclear power stations.
“The plan of the Ukrainian special services was to prompt the shutdown of the nuclear reactors, disrupt the operation of the nuclear power plants and cause serious economic and reputation damage to the Russian Federation,” the FSB said in a statement.
