Historian warns Russia could use Belarus for launching nuclear attacks: Report

Russia may use Belarus to launch nuclear attacks, a Russian-American historian has said. Speaking to The Sun, Dr Yuri Felshtinsky has warned that Kyiv will be destroyed in minutes if Belarus allows Russia to launch nuclear strikes from its territory. Dr Felshtinsky, Russian-American historian and author of 'Blowing Up Ukraine' has claimed that February 24 will be written in the history books as the "beginning of world war three." 

Dr Felshtinsky has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is afraid to have a head-to-head confrontation with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). He claimed that Putin will use Belarus to launch a nuclear strike in a bid to test the resolve of the West. NATO has warned Russia against using nuclear weapons in the ongoing military offensive against Ukraine. NATO has told Russia that it would face a colossal response from the West if in case it uses nuclear weapons. Notably, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, 21 September, announced that he would use "all means at the disposal" to protect the territory of Russia. Speaking to The Sun, Dr Yuri Felshtinsky said that Putin could attempt to move nuclear weapons to Belarus and cited his "unconventional ways" to tackle the situation. 

Dr Felshtinsky believes Putin will not launch nuclear weapons from Russia

He urged the West and NATO to concentrate on Belarus as he does not believe Putin will use nuclear weapons from Russian territory and called it "absolutely suicidal" for him. According to Dr Yuri Felshtinsky, Putin wants to claim a "quick win" in Ukraine to showcase to Russians that the armed forces of Russia were winning on the frontline. He claimed the Kremlin leader will attempt to annex more territories. However, he raised doubts over the possibility as Russia has no "conventional army or forces available" to fight in Ukraine after more than six months of the war. He underscored that Ukraine has the right to "strike preventively against Russia and Belarus" amid the ongoing war as both governments are attempting to blackmail Ukraine and the EU with a nuclear threat. It is pertinent to note here that the US and its allies have imposed sanctions against Russia and Belarus after Moscow began its offensive in Ukraine. 

Russia & Belarus to deploy joint group of forces: Lukashenko

Meanwhile, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said that Minsk and Moscow have decided to deploy a joint regional group of forces. He made the remarks at a meeting on security matters. Lukashenko stressed that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to deploy a regional group of forces from Belarus and Russia in view of the worsening situation on the western borders, Belta reported. The announcement of Lukashenko comes at a time when Russia carried out missile strikes in Ukraine on Monday, 10 October. The strikes have been reported after the explosion on the Kerch bridge, which is a link between Russia and Crimea.  

Image: AP