KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s government on Sunday called for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council to “counter the Kremlin’s nuclear blackmail” after Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed plans to station tactical atomic weapons in Belarus.
Evgeniy Maloletka, Associated Press
Ukrainian servicemen fold the national flag over the coffin of their comrade Andrii Neshodovskiy during a funeral ceremony Saturday in Kyiv, Ukraine.
One Ukrainian official said Russia “took Belarus as a nuclear hostage.”
Further heightening tensions, an explosion deep inside Russia wounded three people Sunday. Russian authorities blamed a Ukrainian drone for the blast, which damaged residential buildings in a town just 110 miles south of Moscow.
Russia has said the plan to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus comes in response to the West’s increasing military support for Ukraine. Putin announced the plan in a TV interview that aired Saturday, saying it was triggered by a U.K. decision this past week to provide Ukraine with armor-piercing rounds containing depleted uranium.
Putin argued that by deploying its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, Russia was following the lead of the United States. He noted that Washington has nuclear weapons based in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey.
“We are doing what they have been doing for decades, stationing them in certain allied countries, preparing the launch platforms and training their crews,” he said.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry condemned the move in a statement Sunday and demanded an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council.
“Ukraine expects effective action to counter the Kremlin’s nuclear blackmail by the U.K., China, the U.S. and France,” the statement read, saying these countries “have a special responsibility” regarding nuclear aggression.
“The world must be united against someone who endangers the future of human civilization,” the statement said.
Ukraine has not commented on Sunday’s explosion inside Russia. It left a crater about 50 feet in diameter and 16 feet deep, according to media reports.
Russian state-run news agency Tass reported authorities identified the drone as a Ukrainian Tu-141. The Soviet-era drone was reintroduced in Ukraine in 2014, and has a range of about 620 miles.
The explosion took place in the town of Kireyevsk in the Tula region, about 180 miles from the border with Ukraine. Russia’s Defense Ministry said the drone crashed after an electronic jamming system disabled its navigation.
Similar drone attacks have been common during the war, although Ukraine hardly ever acknowledges responsibility. On Monday, Russia said Ukrainian drones attacked civilian facilities in the town of Dzhankoi in Russia-annexed Crimea. Ukraine’s military said several Russian cruise missiles were destroyed, but did not specifically claim responsibility.
In December, the Russian military reported several Ukrainian drone attacks on long-range bomber bases deep inside Russia. The Russian Defense Ministry said the drones were shot down, but acknowledged that their debris damaged some aircraft and killed several servicemen.
Also, Russian authorities have reported attacks by small drones in the Bryansk and Belgorod regions on the border with Ukraine.
AP FILE PHOTO
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko both are hockey fans and former players.
On Saturday, Putin argued that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has long asked to have nuclear weapons in his country again to counter NATO. Belarus shares borders with three NATO members — Latvia, Lithuania and Poland — and Russia used Belarusian territory as a staging ground to send troops into neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
Both Lukashenko’s support of the war and Putin’s plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus have been denounced by the Belarusian opposition.
Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, tweeted Sunday that Putin’s announcement was “a step towards internal destabilization” of Belarus that maximized “the level of negative perception and public rejection” of Russia and Putin in Belarusian society. The Kremlin, Danilov added, “took Belarus as a nuclear hostage.”
Tactical nuclear weapons are intended for use on the battlefield and have a short range and a low yield compared with much more powerful nuclear warheads fitted to long-range missiles. Russia plans to maintain control over the ones it sends to Belarus, and construction of storage facilities for them will be completed by July 1, Putin said.
Russia has stored its tactical nuclear weapons at dedicated depots on its territory, and moving part of the arsenal to a storage facility in Belarus would up the ante in the Ukrainian conflict by placing them closer to Russian aircraft and missiles already stationed there.
The U.S. said it would “monitor the implications” of Putin’s announcement. So far, Washington hasn’t seen “any indications Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said.
In Germany, the foreign ministry called it a “further attempt at nuclear intimidation,” German news agency dpa reported late Saturday. The ministry went on to say that “the comparison drawn by President Putin to NATO’s nuclear participation is misleading and cannot be used to justify the step announced by Russia.”
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Wall Street falls on new bank fears; bond yields plunge
Alexander Zemlianichenko
FILE - People are seen through a window inside a restaurant at Patriarshiye Prudy with the word on the wall reads "Patriki" which means Patriarch's Ponds, a hip restaurants and bars district in Moscow, Russia, on Feb. 10, 2023. Russia has weathered sweeping Western economic sanctions better than many expected. Economic life for everyday Russians hasn't changed that much, with familiar imported goods either still available or replaced by local knockoffs. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
Alexander Zemlianichenko
FILE - People are seen through a window inside a restaurant at Patriarshiye Prudy with the word on the wall reads "Patriki" which means Patriarch's Ponds, a hip restaurants and bars district in Moscow, Russia, on Feb. 10, 2023. Russia has weathered sweeping Western economic sanctions better than many expected. Economic life for everyday Russians hasn't changed that much, with familiar imported goods either still available or replaced by local knockoffs. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
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Wall Street falls on new bank fears; bond yields plunge
STR
FILE - The tanker Sun Arrows loads its cargo of liquefied natural gas from the Sakhalin-2 project in the port of Prigorodnoye, Russia, on Oct. 29, 2021. After a year of far-reaching sanctions aimed at degrading Moscow's war chest, economic life for ordinary Russians doesn't look all that different than it did before the invasion of Ukraine. But with restrictions finally tightening on the Kremlin's chief moneymaker — oil — the months ahead will be an even tougher test of President Vladimir Putin's fortress economy. (AP Photo, File)
STR
FILE - The tanker Sun Arrows loads its cargo of liquefied natural gas from the Sakhalin-2 project in the port of Prigorodnoye, Russia, on Oct. 29, 2021. After a year of far-reaching sanctions aimed at degrading Moscow's war chest, economic life for ordinary Russians doesn't look all that different than it did before the invasion of Ukraine. But with restrictions finally tightening on the Kremlin's chief moneymaker — oil — the months ahead will be an even tougher test of President Vladimir Putin's fortress economy. (AP Photo, File)
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Wall Street falls on new bank fears; bond yields plunge
STF
FILE - A view of the business tower Lakhta Centre, the headquarters of Russian gas monopoly Gazprom in St. Petersburg, Russia, on April 27, 2022. After a year of far-reaching sanctions aimed at degrading Moscow's war chest, economic life for ordinary Russians doesn't look all that different than it did before the invasion of Ukraine. But with restrictions finally tightening on the Kremlin's chief moneymaker — oil — the months ahead will be an even tougher test of President Vladimir Putin's fortress economy. (AP Photo, File)
STF
FILE - A view of the business tower Lakhta Centre, the headquarters of Russian gas monopoly Gazprom in St. Petersburg, Russia, on April 27, 2022. After a year of far-reaching sanctions aimed at degrading Moscow's war chest, economic life for ordinary Russians doesn't look all that different than it did before the invasion of Ukraine. But with restrictions finally tightening on the Kremlin's chief moneymaker — oil — the months ahead will be an even tougher test of President Vladimir Putin's fortress economy. (AP Photo, File)
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Wall Street falls on new bank fears; bond yields plunge
STR
FILE - An oil tanker is moored at the Sheskharis complex, part of Chernomortransneft JSC, a subsidiary of Transneft PJSC, in Novorossiysk, Russia, on Oct. 11, 2022, one of the largest facilities for oil and petroleum products in southern Russia. After a year of far-reaching sanctions aimed at degrading Moscow's war chest, economic life for ordinary Russians doesn't look all that different than it did before the invasion of Ukraine. (AP Photo, File)
STR
FILE - An oil tanker is moored at the Sheskharis complex, part of Chernomortransneft JSC, a subsidiary of Transneft PJSC, in Novorossiysk, Russia, on Oct. 11, 2022, one of the largest facilities for oil and petroleum products in southern Russia. After a year of far-reaching sanctions aimed at degrading Moscow's war chest, economic life for ordinary Russians doesn't look all that different than it did before the invasion of Ukraine. (AP Photo, File)
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Wall Street falls on new bank fears; bond yields plunge
Ivan Sekretarev
FILE - Russian state-run Sberbank headquarters in downtown Moscow, Russia on July 29, 2014. After a year of far-reaching sanctions aimed at degrading Moscow's war chest, economic life for ordinary Russians doesn't look all that different than it did before the invasion of Ukraine. But with restrictions finally tightening on the Kremlin's chief moneymaker — oil — the months ahead will be an even tougher test of President Vladimir Putin's fortress economy. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, File)
Ivan Sekretarev
FILE - Russian state-run Sberbank headquarters in downtown Moscow, Russia on July 29, 2014. After a year of far-reaching sanctions aimed at degrading Moscow's war chest, economic life for ordinary Russians doesn't look all that different than it did before the invasion of Ukraine. But with restrictions finally tightening on the Kremlin's chief moneymaker — oil — the months ahead will be an even tougher test of President Vladimir Putin's fortress economy. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, File)
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Wall Street falls on new bank fears; bond yields plunge
Alexander Zemlianichenko
FILE - People line up to visit a newly opened restaurant in a former McDonald's outlet in Bolshaya Bronnaya Street in Moscow, Russia, on Jan. 25, 2023. Crowds might have thinned at some Moscow malls, but not drastically. Some foreign companies like McDonald's and Starbucks have been taken over by local owners who slapped different names on essentially the same menu. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
Alexander Zemlianichenko
FILE - People line up to visit a newly opened restaurant in a former McDonald's outlet in Bolshaya Bronnaya Street in Moscow, Russia, on Jan. 25, 2023. Crowds might have thinned at some Moscow malls, but not drastically. Some foreign companies like McDonald's and Starbucks have been taken over by local owners who slapped different names on essentially the same menu. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
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Wall Street falls on new bank fears; bond yields plunge
STR
FILE - People wait in a line to pay for her purchases at the IKEA store on the outskirts of Moscow, Russia, on March 3, 2022. Furniture and home goods remaining after IKEA exited Russia are being sold off on the Yandex website. (AP Photo, File)
STR
FILE - People wait in a line to pay for her purchases at the IKEA store on the outskirts of Moscow, Russia, on March 3, 2022. Furniture and home goods remaining after IKEA exited Russia are being sold off on the Yandex website. (AP Photo, File)
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Wall Street falls on new bank fears; bond yields plunge
Sergey Guneyev
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking at a news conference following a meeting of the State Council at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia on Dec. 22, 2022. Russia's economy has weathered the West's unprecedented economic sanctions far better than expected. But with restrictions finally tightening on the Kremlin's chief moneymaker — oil — the months ahead will be an even tougher test of President Vladimir Putin's fortress economy. (Sergey Guneyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
Sergey Guneyev
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking at a news conference following a meeting of the State Council at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia on Dec. 22, 2022. Russia's economy has weathered the West's unprecedented economic sanctions far better than expected. But with restrictions finally tightening on the Kremlin's chief moneymaker — oil — the months ahead will be an even tougher test of President Vladimir Putin's fortress economy. (Sergey Guneyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
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Wall Street falls on new bank fears; bond yields plunge
Ekaterina Shtukina
FILE - Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, second left, accompanied by Russian Presidential Envoy to Ural Federal District Vladimir Yakushev, left, visits the Uralvagonzavod factory in Nizhny Tagil in Nizhny Tagil, Russia, on Oct. 24, 2022. Russia has weathered sweeping Western economic sanctions better than many expected. (Ekaterina Shtukina, Sputnik, Government Pool Photo via AP, File)
Ekaterina Shtukina
FILE - Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, second left, accompanied by Russian Presidential Envoy to Ural Federal District Vladimir Yakushev, left, visits the Uralvagonzavod factory in Nizhny Tagil in Nizhny Tagil, Russia, on Oct. 24, 2022. Russia has weathered sweeping Western economic sanctions better than many expected. (Ekaterina Shtukina, Sputnik, Government Pool Photo via AP, File)
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Wall Street falls on new bank fears; bond yields plunge
Alexander Zemlianichenko
A view of the Audi Center Altufievo one of 36 dealerships of Avtodom in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Krasnodar, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 10, 2023. The auto industry is facing bigger hurdles to adapt. Western automakers, including Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz, have left Russia. Foreign cars are still available but far fewer of them and for higher prices, said Andrei Olkhovsky, CEO of Avtodom, which has 36 dealerships in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Krasnodar. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Alexander Zemlianichenko
A view of the Audi Center Altufievo one of 36 dealerships of Avtodom in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Krasnodar, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 10, 2023. The auto industry is facing bigger hurdles to adapt. Western automakers, including Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz, have left Russia. Foreign cars are still available but far fewer of them and for higher prices, said Andrei Olkhovsky, CEO of Avtodom, which has 36 dealerships in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Krasnodar. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
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Wall Street falls on new bank fears; bond yields plunge
STR
People walk past a Sviaznoy mobile phone shop in a shopping mall in St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday, March 10, 2023. Apple has stopped selling products in Russia, but Wildberries, the country's biggest online retailer, offers the iPhone 14 for about the same price as in Europe. Online retailer Svaznoy lists Apple AirPods Pro. (AP Photo)
STR
People walk past a Sviaznoy mobile phone shop in a shopping mall in St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday, March 10, 2023. Apple has stopped selling products in Russia, but Wildberries, the country's biggest online retailer, offers the iPhone 14 for about the same price as in Europe. Online retailer Svaznoy lists Apple AirPods Pro. (AP Photo)
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Wall Street falls on new bank fears; bond yields plunge
Alexander Zemlianichenko
FILE - Few visitors pass inside the GUM department store with lots of boutiques closed due to sanctions in Moscow, Russia, on June 1, 2022. U.S. officials say Russia is now the most sanctioned country in the world. But as the war nears its one-year mark, it's clear the sanctions didn't pack the instantaneous punch that many had hoped. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
Alexander Zemlianichenko
FILE - Few visitors pass inside the GUM department store with lots of boutiques closed due to sanctions in Moscow, Russia, on June 1, 2022. U.S. officials say Russia is now the most sanctioned country in the world. But as the war nears its one-year mark, it's clear the sanctions didn't pack the instantaneous punch that many had hoped. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
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Wall Street falls on new bank fears; bond yields plunge
Kirill Zykov
New made "Moskvich" cars are seen at the assembly shop of Moscow Automobile Plant "Moskvich" with the banner reads: "Moskvich (Muscovite) returns" in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022. The auto industry is facing bigger hurdles to adapt. Russia launched production of the Moskvich car brand at a plant near Moscow given up by the French carmaker Renault, with a new, modern Chinese design that barely resembles the Soviet-era classic. (Kirill Zykov, Moscow News Agency via AP)
Kirill Zykov
New made "Moskvich" cars are seen at the assembly shop of Moscow Automobile Plant "Moskvich" with the banner reads: "Moskvich (Muscovite) returns" in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022. The auto industry is facing bigger hurdles to adapt. Russia launched production of the Moskvich car brand at a plant near Moscow given up by the French carmaker Renault, with a new, modern Chinese design that barely resembles the Soviet-era classic. (Kirill Zykov, Moscow News Agency via AP)
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Wall Street falls on new bank fears; bond yields plunge
Ilya Pitalev
FILE - Employees of the Almaz-Antey Corporation's Obukhov Plant work at its assembly shop in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Jan. 18, 2023. After a year of far-reaching sanctions aimed at degrading Moscow's war chest, economic life for ordinary Russians doesn't look all that different than it did before the invasion of Ukraine. The boon helped bolster the ruble after a temporary post-invasion crash and provided cash for government spending on pensions, salaries and — above all — the military. (Ilya Pitalev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
Ilya Pitalev
FILE - Employees of the Almaz-Antey Corporation's Obukhov Plant work at its assembly shop in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Jan. 18, 2023. After a year of far-reaching sanctions aimed at degrading Moscow's war chest, economic life for ordinary Russians doesn't look all that different than it did before the invasion of Ukraine. The boon helped bolster the ruble after a temporary post-invasion crash and provided cash for government spending on pensions, salaries and — above all — the military. (Ilya Pitalev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
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Wall Street falls on new bank fears; bond yields plunge
Dmitry Serebryakov
A view of the Dealership Mercedes-Benz "Avilon" in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, March 11, 2023. The auto industry is facing bigger hurdles to adapt. Western automakers, including Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz, have left Russia, but foreign cars are still available but far fewer of them and for higher prices. (AP Photo/Dmitry Serebryakov)
Dmitry Serebryakov
A view of the Dealership Mercedes-Benz "Avilon" in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, March 11, 2023. The auto industry is facing bigger hurdles to adapt. Western automakers, including Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz, have left Russia, but foreign cars are still available but far fewer of them and for higher prices. (AP Photo/Dmitry Serebryakov)
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Wall Street falls on new bank fears; bond yields plunge
Dmitri Lovetsky
FILE - Newly built nuclear-powered icebreaker Ural, third of five icebreakers of Project 22220, begins its passage from the Baltiysky Shipyard to the northern city of Murmansk, in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Nov. 23, 2022. After a year of far-reaching sanctions aimed at degrading Moscow's war chest, economic life for ordinary Russians doesn't look all that different than it did before the invasion of Ukraine. But with restrictions finally tightening on the Kremlin's chief moneymaker — oil — the months ahead will be an even tougher test of President Vladimir Putin's fortress economy. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky, File)
Dmitri Lovetsky
FILE - Newly built nuclear-powered icebreaker Ural, third of five icebreakers of Project 22220, begins its passage from the Baltiysky Shipyard to the northern city of Murmansk, in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Nov. 23, 2022. After a year of far-reaching sanctions aimed at degrading Moscow's war chest, economic life for ordinary Russians doesn't look all that different than it did before the invasion of Ukraine. But with restrictions finally tightening on the Kremlin's chief moneymaker — oil — the months ahead will be an even tougher test of President Vladimir Putin's fortress economy. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky, File)
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Wall Street falls on new bank fears; bond yields plunge
Alexander Zemlianichenko
FILE - A logo of a newly opened Stars Coffee in the former location of a Starbucks in Moscow, Russia, on Jan. 24, 2023. Crowds might have thinned at some Moscow malls, but not drastically. Some foreign companies like McDonald's and Starbucks have been taken over by local owners who slapped different names on essentially the same menu. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
Alexander Zemlianichenko
FILE - A logo of a newly opened Stars Coffee in the former location of a Starbucks in Moscow, Russia, on Jan. 24, 2023. Crowds might have thinned at some Moscow malls, but not drastically. Some foreign companies like McDonald's and Starbucks have been taken over by local owners who slapped different names on essentially the same menu. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
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Wall Street falls on new bank fears; bond yields plunge
STR
FILE - New vehicles Gazelle are parked in the territory of the Gorky Automobile plant (GAZ), one of the main budget-forming enterprises in the region in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, on Aug. 11, 2022. After a year of far-reaching sanctions aimed at degrading Moscow's war chest, economic life for ordinary Russians doesn't look all that different than it did before the invasion of Ukraine. But with restrictions finally tightening on the Kremlin's chief moneymaker — oil — the months ahead will be an even tougher test of President Vladimir Putin's fortress economy. (AP Photo, File)
STR
FILE - New vehicles Gazelle are parked in the territory of the Gorky Automobile plant (GAZ), one of the main budget-forming enterprises in the region in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, on Aug. 11, 2022. After a year of far-reaching sanctions aimed at degrading Moscow's war chest, economic life for ordinary Russians doesn't look all that different than it did before the invasion of Ukraine. But with restrictions finally tightening on the Kremlin's chief moneymaker — oil — the months ahead will be an even tougher test of President Vladimir Putin's fortress economy. (AP Photo, File)
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Wall Street falls on new bank fears; bond yields plunge
Alexander Zemlianichenko
FILE - People line up to enter an H&M shop and buy items on sale in the Aviapark shopping mall in Moscow, Russia, on Aug. 9, 2022. Russians are snapping up While 191 foreign companies have left Russia and 1,169 are working to do so, some 1,223 are staying and 496 are taking a wait-and-see approach, according to a database compiled by the Kyiv School of Economics. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
Alexander Zemlianichenko
FILE - People line up to enter an H&M shop and buy items on sale in the Aviapark shopping mall in Moscow, Russia, on Aug. 9, 2022. Russians are snapping up While 191 foreign companies have left Russia and 1,169 are working to do so, some 1,223 are staying and 496 are taking a wait-and-see approach, according to a database compiled by the Kyiv School of Economics. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
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Wall Street falls on new bank fears; bond yields plunge
Dmitri Lovetsky
FILE - Men walk at the Nokian Tyres tire manufacturing plant in Vsevolozhsk, outside St. Petersburg, Russia, on June 29, 2022. Russia's economy has weathered the West's unprecedented economic sanctions far better than expected. But with restrictions finally tightening on the Kremlin's chief moneymaker — oil — the months ahead will be an even tougher test of President Vladimir Putin's fortress economy. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky, File)
Dmitri Lovetsky
FILE - Men walk at the Nokian Tyres tire manufacturing plant in Vsevolozhsk, outside St. Petersburg, Russia, on June 29, 2022. Russia's economy has weathered the West's unprecedented economic sanctions far better than expected. But with restrictions finally tightening on the Kremlin's chief moneymaker — oil — the months ahead will be an even tougher test of President Vladimir Putin's fortress economy. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky, File)
