Putin taking Belarus as ‘nuclear hostage’, says Ukrainian security chief

Mr Putin argued on Saturday that Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko had long asked to have nuclear weapons in his country again to counter Nato

Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council said the announcement was ‘a step towards internal destabilisation’ of Belarus (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)

Ukraine’s top security official has denounced the Kremlin’s plans to station tactical atomic weapons in Belarus, saying that Russia was taking its ally as a “nuclear hostage”.

But Moscow said it was making the move in response to the West’s increasing military support for Ukraine.