Putin confirms Belarus will host Russian nuclear weapons

Vladimir Putin made the statement on Russia-24 TV channel.

The Russian leader said that on July 1, Russia will complete the construction of a special storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. In particular, he claimed that Russia has already handed over the Iskander system, which can be a nuclear weapons carrier, to Belarus.

According to Putin, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has long raised the question of deploying Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

"We are not transferring (nuclear weapons to Belarus - ed.) We are simply doing the same thing that the US and its allies have been doing for decades. They have carriers in certain countries, allies, and train their crews," he said.

• Russian leader Vladimir Putin also said that the supply of arms to Ukraine poses a threat to Russia, while claiming that Russia will produce three times as much ammunition and tanks as the Ukrainian Armed Forces have.