Lukashenko promises 'nuclear weapons for everyone' who joins Russia/Belarus alliance: report

Even after the invasion of Ukraine, far-right Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko has remained a loyal ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin. Lukashenko is arguably Putin's strongest ally in Eastern Europe, where other leaders have condemned the invasion and expressed their solidarity with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Lukashenko's critics, according to CNN, are troubled by a recent development: tactical Russian nuclear weapons being moved from Moscow to Minsk, Belarus' largest city.

In an interview with the Kremlin-sponsored Russia 1, Lukashenko said that governments allying themselves with Russia and Belarus will have access to nukes.

READ MORE: 'Nuclear hostage': Ukraine blasts Vladimir Putin for deploying nukes to Belarus

The Belarus president told Russia 1, "No one minds Kazakhstan and other countries having the same close relations that we have with the Russian Federation…. It's very simple: Join the Union State of Belarus and Russia. That's all. There will be nuclear weapons for everyone."

CNN reports that both the Biden Administration and the European Union (EU) are troubled by the reported presence of Russian nuclear weapons in Minsk.

Matthew Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department, warned, "It's the latest example of irresponsible behavior that we have seen from Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine over a year ago."

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who has been in exile and is a scathing critic of Lukashenko, tweeted on May 25, "We must do everything to prevent Putin's plan to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus…. It directly violates our constitutional non-nuclear status and would secure Russia's control over Belarus for years ahead. And it would further threaten the security of Ukraine and all of Europe."

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CNN's full report is available at this link.