Russia has 'moved 10 aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons to Belarus'

Shafaq News/ Russia has reportedly moved 10 aircraft to Belarus that are capable of carrying tactical nuclear weapons, after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a deal with the country's leader.

The move, reported by news agency TASS, has stoked fears of an escalation in the conflict with Ukraine.

Putin has signed a deal to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, TASS reported, stating that ten aircraft capable of carrying the armaments have reportedly already been moved there.

"We agreed with [Belarusian President Alexander] Lukashenko that we would place tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus without violating the non-proliferation regime," Putin said.

Putin claimed it would not violate nuclear non-proliferation agreements, as the US already has such weapons stationed in Europe, as per the agency.

On July 1, Russia will complete the construction of a storage facility on the territory of Belarus, RBU reported.

He added that on April 3, Moscow will begin training crews to operate aircraft converted to use tactical weapons.

In December Russia moved a Yars strategic missile to the the Tver region of Russia, just northwest of Moscow.

Two more Yars missiles were installed into silos at Kozelsk in the same week.

That move came just after the despot increased the number of his strategic nuclear bombers stationed at an airbase near the Finnish and Norwegian borders.

In August last year, Belarus's authoritarian ruler, Alyaksandr Lukashenko, said that his country's Su-24 military planes were re-fitted to enable them to carry nuclear weapons.