NATO chief: Russia’s nuclear threats will not intimidate us, support for Ukraine will continue

Western allies will not abandon their support for Ukraine in the war against Russia despite the Kremlin’s threats to use nuclear weapons.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this at the 18th annual conference of the Alliance on arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Jens Stoltenberg said that Russia is seeking to undermine the foundations of the international security system by ignoring, violating or abandoning a significant part of the network of global arms control agreements that keep the world safe.

“These are irresponsible actions aimed at deterring NATO allies from supporting Ukraine. But they will not work. Because as long as we take Russia’s threats seriously, we will not be intimidated,” the NATO Secretary General said.

Jens Stoltenberg reminded that Russia had suspended its participation in the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, does not comply with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and is stepping up its provocative nuclear rhetoric, threatening to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

“Russia is the most direct threat to our security,” Stoltenberg added.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that tactical nuclear weapons would be deployed in Belarus by July. The Russian dictator compared his nuclear plans to the US deployment of its weapons in Europe. He insisted that Russia would not violate its non-proliferation pledge.

After that, the dictator of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, started talking about the possibility of deploying strategic Russian nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus.