(Moscow) Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened on Saturday to use depleted uranium shells in Ukraine if Kyiv were to receive them from Westerners, as recently mentioned by a British official.
“Russia, of course, has something to answer for. We have, without exaggeration, hundreds of thousands of such shells. We are not using them at the moment,” Putin said in an interview on Russian television.
“Tactical” nuclear weapons in Belarus
Russian President Vladimir Putin also said on Saturday that Moscow would deploy “tactical” nuclear weapons on the territory of its ally, Belarus, a country located at the gates of the European Union.
“There is nothing unusual here: the United States has been doing this for decades. They have long been deploying their tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of their allies,” Putin said. “We agreed to do the same,” he added, saying he had the Minsk agreement.
“We have already helped our Belarusian colleagues and equipped their planes […] without violating our international commitments on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. Ten planes are ready to use this type of weapon,” Putin continued.
“From April 3, we start training the crews. And the 1er July, we will complete the construction of a special warehouse for tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus,” he added.
According to Mr. Putin, this decision was motivated by London’s desire to send depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine.