ON THE BRINK

Russian Nuclear Weapons Are Now in Belarus, Lukashenko Says

He said the bombs are “three times more powerful” than those dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Belarus has started taking delivery of tactical nuclear weapons from Russia, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said. In an interview with Russian state TV released late Tuesday, the self-described “last dictator” in Europe said: “We have missiles and bombs that we have received from Russia.” He added that the bombs “are three times more powerful” than the devices dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II. The deployment is the first time Moscow has sent tactical nukes outside of Russian borders since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Earlier on Tuesday, Lukashenko threatened to use nuclear weapons in the event that “a single foreign soldier sets foot on the Belarusian land.”