US says it has 'no reason to doubt' Putin's claims over nuclear belligerence

United States Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) has “no reason to doubt” the claim of Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding moving the tactical nuclear weapons' first batch to Belarus, stated senior DIA officials on Friday (July 21).

Last month, Putin had stated that St Petersburg International Economic Forum said that “the first [Russian] nuclear warheads were delivered to the territory of Belarus,” further adding that they have been moved for “deterrence.”

According to the Federation of American Scientists, Moscow has around 4,477 deployed and reserved nuclear warheads, which include 1,900 tactical nuclear weapons. It remains unclear how much nuclear arsenal Putin intends to move, reported CNN.

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According to the report, a few DIA officials told some media persons that analysts have “no reason to doubt” the claims of Putin, and no reason to doubt “that they have had some success” in moving the weapons.

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US to face challenges in tracking weapons

The officials accepted that the US intelligence community is likely to face difficulty in tracking the weapons, even through satellite imagery.

Speaking to CNN earlier this month, US and Western officials said that it looks like Belarus has not yet completed the upgradation of necessary storage facilities for housing tactical nuclear weapons. They added that the recent satellite imagery shows no signs of the kind of preparations and security which would be required at a Russian nuclear facility.

British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, on being asked if he had seen signs of weapons being moved by Russia, told CNN that the UK had “seen signs of this progressing” and noted that Putin “doesn’t always lie”.

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In a briefing on July 11, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, “I will say that we continue to actively monitor reports of the Russia-Belarus arrangement to ensure that Russia maintains control of its weapons in the event of any deployment to Belarus and upholds its obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. We will be paying close attention to any deviation by Russia.”

Last month, Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenko said in the face of aggression, “no hesitation” will be shown by him in using the Russian tactical nuclear weapons which have been stationed on Belarusian soil.

However, senior DIA officials stated that they don't think Lukashenko will have any control over the arsenal. The officials added that the entire control of the arsenal would most likely be with Russia.

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