Russia to US: No lectures on nuclear weapon deployments

Biden said on Friday he had an “extremely negative” reaction to reports that Russia moved ahead with the deployment in Belarus.

“It is the sovereign right of Russia and Belarus to ensure their security by means we deem necessary amid a large-scale hybrid war unleashed by Washington against us,” Russia’s embassy in the United States said in a statement.

“The measures we undertake are fully consistent with our international legal obligations.”

Tactical nuclear weapons are used for tactical gains on the battlefield and are usually smaller in yield than the strategic nuclear weapons designed to destroy American, European or Russian cities.

The Russian embassy called the US criticism of Moscow’s deployment hypocritical, saying “before blaming others, Washington could use some introspection”.

“The United States has been for decades maintaining a large arsenal of its nuclear weapons in Europe. Together with its NATO allies it participates in nuclear sharing arrangements and trains for scenarios of nuclear weapons use against our country.”

Cold War redux
The United States has said the world faces the gravest nuclear danger since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis because of remarks by President Vladimir Putin during the Ukraine conflict, but Moscow says its position has been misinterpreted.

Putin, who has cast the Ukraine war as a battle for the survival of Russia against an aggressive West, has repeatedly warned that Russia, which has more nuclear weapons than any other country, will use all means to defend itself.