Ukraine calls for UN meeting after Putin nuclear plan

Ukraine on Sunday called for a UN Security Council meeting after Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. Putin said that the United States has done the same thing by stationing nuclear weapons in various territories controlled by U.S. allies, such as Turkey, Germany, and Belgium. On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also met with UN atomic energy agency chief Rafael Mariano Grossi to discuss the situation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which has lost several power transmission cables since Russia’s invasion and is located in a heavily militarized area.

What would it mean for Russia to have nuclear weapons in Belarus? Putin said Russia would not give the weapons to Belarus, it would only be stationing them there. Moving tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus would put them closer to Russian aircraft and troops in the country. NATO and the European Union have condemned the move. The United States says it does not see a reason to change its strategic nuclear posture.

Dig deeper: Listen to Jill Nelson and Mary Reichard’s discussion on The World and Everything In It podcast about the International Criminal Court’s recent decision to issue an arrest warrant for Putin.