Ukraine strengthens its borders with more than 6,000 anti-tank mines

Ukraine’s reinforcements to the borders of Belarus and Russia began. Along the country’s northwestern border hit by Russian bombs, Kiev has placed more than 6,000 anti-tank mines in areas accessible to enemy tanks. The goal is clear: Ukraine aims to strengthen its defenses against enemy attacks.

According to Sergei Naev, the commander of the Kiev joint forces, the lines of defense are focused on “possible ways of enemy advance into the depths of our territory, including roads, forests, bridges.”

Minsk’s response

The move drew backlash from Belarus, a friend of Putin’s Russia. President Aleksandr Lukashenko ordered the conduct of operations “a comprehensive check of the combat readiness of the national armed forces.” The Minsk Defense Ministry’s VoyenTV television channel reported that the called reservists joined the ranks to increase the troops’ ability to act in a “difficult situation”. The publisher states that at the moment the recruiting system is only in the testing phase. “They will regain the skills of their military profession, learn new weapons and practice various field activities,” the Belarusian broadcaster said in a statement.

Belarus has been under special observation for its support of the Kremlin since the beginning of the war. On the other hand, Putin’s ally Lukashenko owes him for his support in suppressing the 2020 protests. They take a more active role in the war in Ukraine, but the point is that the scope and intensity of this role can be calibrated with the intent to influence the course of the war. Because soon on the territory of Belarus will be built storage facilities for nuclear weapons.

Last month, Vladimir Putin announced new moves, first of all to deploy weapons and men at the gates of Europe: “On July 1, the construction of a tactical nuclear weapons depot in Belarus will be completed – said the Russian president – Moscow and Minsk agreed on this. They will deploy tactical nuclear weapons there, without violating their obligations under the START Treaty.” Putin’s announcement appears to be a response after Britain announced that it would send depleted uranium shells to Ukraine.

Putin: “Like the USA, we will bring nuclear weapons to Belarus”

Moscow underestimated Russia’s deployment of tactical nuclear weapons at Europe’s doorstep. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov described Western countries’ reaction to Russia’s plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus as “hysterical”. “The collective West does not seem willing to agree at all on US nuclear weapons stationed near our country in Europe, but prefers to give a hysterical response to our plans to build silos for the storage of tactical nuclear weapons in the Belarusian region,” he said in an interview. A spokesperson for the Russian presidency admitted earlier this week that plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus are a response to NATO expansion.

what are tactical nuclear weapons

Since the chaos following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian arsenal has been extensively modernized. The “Federation of American Scientists” has calculated 5,977 warheads at Moscow’s disposal, this is more than any other country in the world and the total NATO reserves, but about 1,500 of them are said to be very old and ready for dismantling by now. At least 1,588 of these bombs are actually ready for use.

But what is a tactical nuclear weapon and how is it different from a strategic atomic bomb? While there is no traditional distinction between “tactical” and “strategic” nuclear weapons, the former has a reduced destructive potential and represents a more “limited” use of nuclear weapons. The distinction relates mainly to the purposes for which they are used.

Tactical nuclear weapons are less powerful warheads and can be used not to achieve maximum destruction, but to achieve tactical targets on a smaller scale (for example, to destroy a column of armored vehicles or disable enemy aircraft carriers).

The yields of the bombs dropped by the United States on Japan, Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the Second World War were relatively small, 15 and 20 kilotons: they can be considered tactical today. On the other hand, strategically defined ones are the most powerful nuclear warheads: they can unleash hundreds of kilotons of energy and cause unimaginable damage, as well as possibly causing an equivalent response from other states. It would be the end of humanity.

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Source: Today IT

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