The international society should not be distracted by Putin's statements about the placement of nuclear weapons in Belarus because protection of a NATO country against the threat of such weapons is guaranteed regardless of its location.

Arvydas Anušauskas, Minister of Defence of Lithuania, noted that the placement of nuclear weapons in Belarus only shows Putin's fears about the strengthening of NATO forces on the eastern flank after the start of the war against Ukraine.

"We should not be distracted by this, shouting 'what will happen now?'. The protection of NATO countries against the threat of nuclear weapons is ensured regardless of whether these weapons are deployed to the West of our borders (Kaliningrad region), to the east (Belarus), or the north (Leningrad region)," Anušauskas said on his Facebook.

He added that the US' stance regarding this step by Putin is quite moderate because this deployment will not change any of America's plans for nuclear deterrence.

Anusauskas called the intention of the Russian Federation to transfer tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus an attempt to cause dissatisfaction among politicians in the West with support for Ukraine or to intimidate countries that support Ukraine.

He also emphasised that since it is practically impossible to prepare a place to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in three months, the existing infrastructure in Belarus, which was agreed upon a year ago, will be used for its deployment.

Meanwhile, NATO called Russia's nuclear rhetoric "dangerous and irresponsible".

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine demands to convene an extraordinary meeting of the UN Security Council immediately and expects practical actions to counter the nuclear blackmail from the Kremlin to be taken by the UK, China, the USA, and France.