Putin Ally Deploys Ballistic Missiles Amid Ukraine Tensions: 'No Red Lines'

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko issued a nuclear threat on Tuesday, warning that he has "no red lines" and would be prepared to use any weapons to protect his country.

Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said he had deployed Polonez and Iskander long-range missile systems in response to what his military has described as rising tensions at its border with Ukraine.

On June 29, Colonel Vadim Lukashevich, a Belarusian military official, claimed Ukraine had deployed its forces to the Belarusian border in an attempt to "drag our country into the war." He was referring to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which was launched by Putin on February 24, 2022.

"The Air Force and Air Defense Forces are in high combat readiness. Both ours and Russia's. There is complete cooperation here," Lukashenko said in Minsk. "The Polonez and Iskander missile systems are deployed in position. You also know what kind of ammunition they have."

Iskander-M ballistic missiles are capable of carrying nuclear as well as conventional warheads. Lukashenko warned in June 2023 that Russian tactical nuclear warheads can also be installed on missiles fired by his military's Polonez multiple rocket launchers.

Lukashevich claimed over the weekend that Ukrainian forces were planning potential sabotage and terrorist acts on Belarusian soil.

"The situation on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border is characterized by escalating tensions," the military official said.

"There will be no red lines," Lukashenko said Tuesday, adding that if there is an attack on his country, he does not rule out "a strike with all types of weapons on a given target."

"I guarantee that we will not allow any clashes on the border with Ukraine. There will be none, we do not need them. But Ukraine does not need them even more in connection with the events that are unfolding on their battlefield," he added.

Newsweek has contacted Ukraine's Foreign Ministry for comment by email.

Belarus, a former Soviet republic, has maintained strong relations with Russia throughout the war.

While Lukashenko's troops haven't directly joined the Ukrainian conflict, Russian troops have been allowed to conduct exercises on Belarusian territory since before the beginning of the war. The country was used by Russia to help launch its invasion of Ukraine two years ago.

On May 21, Russia and Belarus carried out drills practicing the use of nonstrategic nuclear weapons. The Russian Defense Ministry said the exercises aimed to prepare troops and equipment "to unconditionally ensure the sovereignty and territorial integrity" of the two countries known as the "Union State."

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