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Belarus president says air force becomes nuclear-capable
Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenko announced on Friday (August 26) that the country's military planes had been re-equipped to carry nuclear weapons.
"They should understand that no helicopters, planes, if they escalate, will save them," Lukashenko told reporters in the capital Minsk, noting that he had asked Russian President Vladimir Putin in June to help upgrade the Belarusian Air Force to respond to flights of nuclear-capable NATO aircraft near his country's border.
"Putin and I once said in Saint Petersburg that we would re-equip Belarusian Su aircraft so that they could carry nuclear weapons. What do you think, that those were empty words? Everything is ready," he said.
In June, Lukashenko had complained about the training flights of NATO's nuclear-capable aircraft near Belarusian borders, asking Putin for help "to respond adequately."
Earlier in June, Russian President Vladimir Putin offers to upgrade Belarus’ warplanes to make them capable of carrying nuclear weapons, amid soaring tensions with the West over Ukraine.
Belarus opposition seeks US technology help in struggle against Lukashenko
“Many Su-25 [aircrafts] are in service with the Belarusian military. They could be upgraded in an appropriate way.
This modernization should be carried out in aircraft factories in Russia and the training of personnel should start in accordance with this,” Putin says after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko asked him to “adapt” the planes in a televised interview.
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