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Vladimir Putin has given the go ahead to equip Bealrusian fighter jets with the capability to carry nuclear weapons.
The move raises fears that the Russian President is determined to escalate further the conflict in Ukraine.
On Saturday, the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed it would re-equip Belarusian SU-27 jets so they could be armed with nuclear missiles.
Konstantin Vorontsov, the deputy head of the Russian delegation at the UN”s First Committee on Disarmament and International Security, also said Russia is transferring dual-equipped Iskander-M systems to Belarus.
The Iskander is a mobile short-range ballistic missile that can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads up to 700kg.
The Russian official said: “At this stage, we are talking only about the transfer of dual-equipped Iskander-M systems with missiles in conventional equipment to the Republic of Belarus, as well as giving some of the Belarusian Su-25 aircraft the technical capability to carry nuclear weapons.”
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