Belarus: Belarus fighter jets Sukhoi Aircraft have been upgraded to carry nuclear weapons. President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, a friend of Putin and a supporter of Russia in the Ukraine war, has given this statement as a warning. He said that some ‘targets’ have been selected in the West and if provoked, countermeasures will be taken. Lukashenko has warned the US and its allies against “provoking” Belarus. He said the change to the SU-24 followed his meeting with Putin in June where he offered nuclear-capable Belarusian fighter jets to Russian factories and helped train pilots.
No one can save the West: Belarus President
“The West has to understand that no helicopter or plane will save them if they continue to provoke the situation,” the Belarusian president said, according to a Belarusian news agency. Putin and I once said in St. Petersburg that we would, among other things, modify Belarusian Sukhoi planes so they could carry nuclear weapons. Lukashenko said, ‘You think we are bullshit? Everything is ready!’
Targets were marked in the west
The president of Belarus said the West had “marked targets” for retaliation if his warnings were ignored. Lukashenko did not say how many fighter jets have been made nuclear capable, nor did he provide any evidence to support his claims. There has been no reaction from the Kremlin to his statement so far. Russia is using its neighbor Belarus as a ‘platform’ to send troops into Ukraine. Moscow and Minsk (the capital of Belarus) have close military ties.
Russia runs out of troops
August 24 marked six months of war between Russia and Ukraine. Both sides have suffered heavy losses in this war, but there is still no end in sight. At least 40,000 Russian soldiers are estimated to have been killed in the Ukraine war. These figures have not been confirmed, but the Russian army is struggling with a shortage of soldiers. President Vladimir Putin has ordered a massive recruitment drive by 2023 to boost troop numbers. Putin said in his order that the Ministry of Defense should prepare to recruit 1,37,000 people into the Russian Armed Forces by next year. The Russian Armed Forces currently have one million soldiers, while two million are in reserve.