Nuclear threat: Lukashenko threatens nuclear weapons and a third world war

The ruler of the former Soviet republic of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has accused NATO of plans to attack his country and threatened to use nuclear weapons. “An attack on Belarus means World War III,” the Belarusian head of state said, according to the state news agency Belta, during an appearance in front of students in Minsk. Both Belarus and its ally Russia would use nuclear weapons in that case. In this context, Lukashenko thanked Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin for the recent change in Russian nuclear doctrine.

During his speech at the State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics, Lukashenko claimed that NATO had concrete plans to attack Belarus. “Americans and Poles have already lined up along the border, especially on the Polish border. We know that the Polish leadership is already rubbing its hands,” he said. They are prepared for the eventuality and will react immediately. Since NATO can respond to the use of nuclear weapons with its own nuclear strikes, Russia will use its entire arsenal. Lukashenko said the West was not prepared for such an escalation.

Lukashenko is not the master of nuclear weapons

Belarus is not itself a nuclear power; However, tactical nuclear weapons from Russia have been stationed on its territory since the end of 2023. In April, Lukashenko spoke of several dozen nuclear warheads. Belarus also received Russian Iskander missiles, which can be equipped with nuclear weapons. Su-25 fighter jets were also converted to carrier weapons. While Moscow claims command of the nuclear weapons stationed in Belarus, Lukashenko has already had the use of nuclear weapons incorporated into his country’s military doctrine.

Putin said two days ago that Russia had adapted its military doctrine to the international security situation. Russia’s list of military threats against which nuclear weapons can be used as a deterrent has been expanded, the 71-year-old said at a meeting of the National Security Council in Moscow.

The change is in response to the debate over the release of long-range weapons to Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s war of aggression. The new doctrine increases the risk, especially for Western nuclear powers such as the USA and France, of becoming the target of a Russian counterattack if they support nuclear-weapon-free countries such as Ukraine in an aggression against Russia.