Putin Announces Timeline for Nuclear Weapons Deployment in Belarus

Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Friday during a meeting in Sochi that Russia will begin the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus after the facilities are ready between July 7 and 8. A statement from the Kremlin quoted Putin saying, "Everything is going according to plan, everything is stable." The two presidents had previously agreed on the plan for deploying short-range nuclear missiles on the territory of Belarus, a close ally of Moscow, with the missiles remaining under Russian command.