Russia to place nuclear weapons near Belarus' borders with NATO

FILE PHOTO: A member of the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service keeps watch at the Senkivka checkpoint near the border with Belarus and Russia in the Chernihiv region, Ukraine February 16, 2022. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

(Reuters) - Russia will move its tactical nuclear weapons close to the western borders of Belarus, the Russian envoy to Minsk said on Sunday, placing them at NATO's threshold in a move likely to further escalate Moscow's standoff with the West.

In one of the Russia's most pronounced nuclear signals since the beginning of its invasion of Ukraine 13 months ago, President Vladimir Putin said on March 26 that Russia will station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.