Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum. He stated that his country’s arms transfer to Belarus will be completed by the end of this summer.
In his statement, Putin stated that the shipment of nuclear weapons will be completed by the end of the year, “As you know, we were discussing the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons with our ally Belarus. This happened. The first nuclear missiles were delivered to Belarus. This is just the first batch, we will complete this work by the end of the year.”
Putin also emphasized that these deployed nuclear weapons will only be used when they anticipate that Russian soil is threatened.
DESCRIPTION FROM BLINKEN
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken evaluated these words of Putin. Blinken said in a statement that Russia has no indication of using nuclear weapons, “We are following the situation closely, there is no reason to change our strategic nuclear stance.”
“NATO IS DRAWN INTO THE WAR”
At the International Economic Forum, Putin once again criticized the West’s weapons aid to Kiev about the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Evaluating the possibility of supplying F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, Putin said, “If F-16s are deployed outside Ukraine but are used in combat, we will consider how and where we will strike.”
On the other hand, Putin criticizes NATO’s stance in Ukraine. “NATO is being drawn into the war in Ukraine. Now they are considering giving fighter jets to Ukraine. The tanks given to them are burning at the front. There are Leopards among the destroyed tanks. No doubt the F-16s will also burn,” he said.
Emphasizing that the Ukrainian armed forces, which counterattacked, are not likely to win the war, he stated that Ukraine will soon run out of self-produced weapons and become dependent on foreign countries.