Statement by the Rada BNR about the Deployment of Russia’s Nuclear Weapons in Belarus

The Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in Exile (the Rada BNR) regularly warns the West that ignoring the problems of Belarus will inevitably lead to Russian military presence in Belarus, threatening European and global security.

Now, this warning has become a reality – Moscow and Minsk have signed a deal that will allow the deployment of Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons in Belarusian facilities.

The Rada BNR emphasizes that the Republic of Belarus doesn’t have a legitimate governement — Aliaksandar Lukashenka has usurped power. He and his cronies have no authority to make decisions for the Belarusian people.

For the first time since the existence of the USSR, this deal by Moscow and Minsk not only positions Belarusians as a target for a retaliatory nuclear strike, but also as a target for a preventive nuclear strike.

The Rada BNR calls the governments and the parliaments of the democratic world to support the Belarusian people in their struggle against the Putin-Lukashenka occupation.

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The Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic (the BNR Rada), founded in 1917, is the oldest active Belarusian governmental institution. Since 1918, the BNR Rada has served as the temporary supreme governing body of the Belarusian Democratic Republic, the first Belarusian democratic state whose independence was declared on 25 March 1918. The BNR Rada was forced to relocate from Belarus in 1919 due to the invasion by Soviet Russia and has been operating in exile ever since, now representing a more than a century old Belarusian democratic political tradition.