![]() Grain deal developments: Zelensky says he “coordinated efforts” on restoring the Black Sea grain deal in a phone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.Miller said the US has “not seen any reason to adjust our own nuclear posture nor any indication Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon.” They also said that DIA does not believe the movement of the weapons to Belarus would alter the global nuclear landscape or increase the risk of a nuclear incident, because they would be in storage rather than forward deployed, and because they will be controlled by Russian forces. It would most likely be entirely controlled by Russia, the official said. What role is Belarus playing? Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said last month that in the face of aggression, he would show “no hesitation” in using the Russian tactical nuclear weapons stationed on his country's soil.īut the senior DIA officials said they do not believe Lukashenko would have any control over the arsenal. US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller similarly declined to answer questions earlier this month about where the weapons actually are located. Other sources told CNN, however, that there are various facilities in Belarus, dating back to the Soviet era, that could feasibly house some of the weapons.Īsked last week whether he had seen signs that Russia had moved the weapons, UK Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace told CNN that the UK had “seen signs of this progressing,” and noted that Putin “doesn’t always lie.” When pressed, however, Wallace also declined to elaborate on the signs he had seen. What we know so far: US and Western officials told CNN earlier this month that it did not appear Belarus had finished upgrading the necessary storage facilities to house tactical nuclear weapons, and that available satellite imagery had not shown any signs of the kind of preparations and security that would be standard at a Russian nuclear facility. They acknowledged that the weapons are difficult for the US intelligence community to track, even through satellite imagery. The officials would not disclose why they believe that. It is not clear how much of that arsenal Putin intends to move, and Western officials have never publicly confirmed that any weapons have been transferred to Belarus.īut senior officials with the US Defense Intelligence Agency told a small group of reporters Friday that analysts have “no reason to doubt” Putin’s claims about the transfer. ![]() Russia has about 4,477 deployed and reserve nuclear warheads, including around 1,900 tactical nuclear weapons, according to the Federation of American Scientists. Petersburg International Economic Forum that “the first (Russian) nuclear warheads were delivered to the territory of Belarus,” adding that they were placed there for “deterrence.” US intelligence officials have no reason to doubt Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claim that he has moved a batch of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, senior officials with a division of the US Defense Department said Friday. Putin speaks at the SPIEF 2023 St.Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 16, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. ![]() The SVR also referenced the Cambridge Five spy ring and George Blake - a double agent who used his position as an MI6 officer to spy for the Soviet Union. The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service made a reference to Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels, saying the mysterious M., who is James Bond's boss in the series, "commands beautifully" and "intelligently." ![]() The SVR said during World War II, British intelligence officers sacrificed many lives and dedicated a lot of effort to the fight against Nazism, and that they did it in a courageous, professional, and subtle manner while fighting alongside their Russian allies, according to TASS. The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service went on to say that "anyone who knows a little bit about this subject can remember that the Anglo-Saxons’ long-standing tradition is to eliminate well-worn traitors and defectors," adding "this has not been done professionally for a long time, as there would be a clear trail." "The current head of the British foreign intelligence service, the MI6, Richard Moore, has publicly urged Russians to start working for the United Kingdom’s intelligence services and promised protection for traitors. He thinks this will put an end to the conflict in Ukraine," the SVR said in a news release made available to TASS. ![]()
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