Because the development of events is obvious: Putin, in violation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (and "not handing over, but simply deploying" will not help, it is still a violation), is offloading some nukes to Lukashenko. And then NATO will not stand still.
That is, in response, at least small but powerful arsenals (nuclear or not - it doesn't matter that much) will appear along half of the Russian perimeter "from 5 to 11 o'clock" (or "from Turkey to Norway"). At least the Baltic states, Poland, and even us, would not reject the deployment, and would agree to it enthusiastically. Finland, having such inadequacy right next door, is also unlikely to refuse an additional argument.
“140 kilometers from the border (if you start from Narva) - and the St. Petersburg Admiralty will be covered. 450-600 kilometers (depending on whether you measure from us or from Latvia) - and the Kremlin. And these are not distances for air defense - it's too close, there is no time to react. A missile wave at point-blank range - they simply won't have time to react”
That is, in fact, 140 kilometers from the border (if you start from Narva) - and the St. Petersburg Admiralty will be covered. 450-600 kilometers (depending on whether you measure from us or from Latvia) - and the Kremlin. And these are not distances for air defense - it's too close, there is no time to react. A missile wave at point-blank range - they simply won't have time to react.
So, there is no question of any "increase in security for Russia" or "additional insurance" a priori. Risks are only growing, and seriously so. So, the decision is obviously irrational.
The conclusion is that Putin must have said this out of fear. Although he gave himself time - "until July 1.”
About the author. Oleksiy Holobutskyi, political scientist.
The editorial board does not always share the opinions expressed by the blog authors.