The German government regarded the statement of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, about the placement of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus as "another attempt at nuclear intimidation."

The nuclear rhetoric of the Russian President is irresponsible, a spokeswoman of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs said at a press conference.

"Of course, we will not allow this to divert us from our course to support Ukraine in its self-defence,"  Tagesschau quotes the spokeswoman.

A spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Defence added that Putin's statement did not change the assessment of the situation regarding the nuclear threat.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced, during a TV interview on 25 March, that Moscow and Minsk had reached an agreement on the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

On Sunday, 26 March, the North Atlantic Alliance criticised Russia's dangerous and irresponsible nuclear rhetoric, adding that it was monitoring the situation.

Also on Sunday, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry called for an immediate meeting of the UN Security Council in the wake of Putin's comments.

EU Diplomacy Chief Josep Borrell announced that the EU was ready to respond to the actions of Russia and Belarus with further sanctions.

For now, the United States has seen no evidence of Russia moving nuclear weapons to neighbouring Belarus or elsewhere.