U.S. intelligence officials told reporters on Friday that there is ‘no reason to doubt’ Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claims that he moved nuclear weapons into Belarus, according to CNN.
Senior Defense Intelligence Agency officials also said they don’t believe the movement alters the global nuclear landscape or increases the risk of nuclear attack, the outlet reported.
Putin announced in June that Russia had delivered its first nuclear warheads into Belarus as part of a plan to deploy tactical nuclear bombs in the country bordering Ukraine.
“This is a deterrence measure [against] all those who think about Russia and its strategic defeat,” he said at the time.
The Russian president also claimed that it was only “the first batch,” the Russian state-run outlet TASS reported. “We will complete this work by the end of this year.”
As the Russia-Ukraine war nears its 18th month, the intel officials said they had no reason to doubt “that [Russia has] had some success” in transferring the weapons, which Putin called a “deterrence” against “all those who think about Russia and its strategic defeat.”
While they didn’t go into detail about what made them come to their decision, the officials acknowledged that the weapons were difficult to track — even with satellites.
Putin first announced plans to store tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus in March, saying their placement is a response to U.S. nuclear weapons in nearby European countries and Turkey. He said their actions were no different than what the United States is doing.
“We are doing what they have been doing for decades, stationing them in certain allied countries, preparing the launch platforms and training their crews,” Putin said at the time, as reported by multiple media outlets. “We are going to do the same thing.”
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko also said that he would not hesitate to use the weapons if provoked.
“We have got the missiles and bombs from Russia… Not all of them, little by little,” Lukashenko said in June.
“God forbid I have to make a decision to use those weapons today, but there would be no hesitation if we face an aggression,” he added.