Ukraine war: US reacts cautiously as Russia agrees deal to move nuclear weapons to Belarus

Published

2 years ago

March 26, 2023

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The United States has reacted cautiously to Russia’s decision to place nuclear weapons in Belarus.

On Saturday it was reported by a Russian news agency that Vladimir Putin has signed a deal to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

Ten aircraft capable of carrying the armaments – which are designed for use on the battlefield, rather than to wipe out cities – have reportedly already been moved there.

Ukraine war – live updates: US ‘monitoring situation’ in Belarus

It is the first time since the mid-1990s that Russia has based such weaponry outside the country.

But a senior US administration official told the Reuters news agency there are no signs Moscow plans to use the weapons.

“We have not seen any reason to adjust our own strategic nuclear posture nor any indications Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon.

“We remain committed to the collective defence of the NATO alliance.”

A top security adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned the move would destabilise Belarus.

“The Kremlin took Belarus as a nuclear hostage,” Oleksiy Danilov, the head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, wrote on Twitter.

‘No violation’ of nuclear treaty

Mr Putin claimed the decision would not violate nuclear non-proliferation agreements, as the US already has such weapons stationed in Europe, according to Russian news agency Tass.

This is a reference to an international treaty aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons – keeping them out of the hands of countries that do not already have them.

But Mr Putin has said the weapons to be stationed in Belarus – which does not have nuclear arms – would remain under Russian control.

“There is nothing unusual here either: firstly, the United States has been doing this for decades. They have long deployed their tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of their allied countries,” Mr Putin told state television.

“We agreed that we will do the same – without violating our obligations, I emphasize, without violating our international obligations on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.”

The US has an estimated 100 nuclear warheads at air bases on the continent, including in Germany, the Netherlands, and Turkey, according to the Centre for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.

Russia’s reliance on Belarus

Tensions have grown over the war in Ukraine after heavy supplies of Western weaponry to Kyiv and Moscow shifting its rhetoric on its military operation away from “demilitarisation” of its neighbour to fighting “the collective West” there.

This latest deal is another sign of the Kremlin’s reliance on Belarus as an ally during the war in Ukraine.

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Mr Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko have both visited each other in their respective capital cities.

Belarus has also helped trained Russian troops, looked after those injured, and provided supplies. The regime has also let Russia use its territory to launch land and air attacks.

US

LA riots: Trump dials up the rhetoric

Published

2 hours ago

June 10, 2025

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Protests have entered their fourth day in Los Angeles. As people continue to clash with police, Trump has deployed the National Guard against the wishes of the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom.

Martha Kelner has been reporting from the streets of LA, seeing burning cars, tear gas, and people being hit with rubber bullets. Martha, Mark Stone, and James Matthews discuss the scenes in LA, and Trump’s reaction.

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You can also watch all episodes on our YouTube channel.

US

Downtown LA is a scene of pandemonium and lawlessness

Published

1 day ago

June 9, 2025

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Downtown LA is a scene of pandemonium and lawlessness

A shirtless man waving a Mexican flag stands atop a burning car in the heart of Los Angeles, as another man throws a traffic cone into the flames and some play drums and shout chants in opposition to immigration officials.

In the background, city hall can be glimpsed through a haze of thick black smoke.

The downtown district of one of America’s biggest cities was a scene of pandemonium and lawlessness as protests, which had previously been mainly peaceful, turned ugly.

Critics of Donald Trump said the president’s extraordinary decision to deploy National Guard troops, defying the wishes of the state’s governor, had inflamed tensions and stoked emotions.

The 101 Freeway, the main highway cutting through the downtown area, was also closed down for much of the day as police and protesters faced off, with flash bang devices sending some people scattering.

Bottles and other projectiles were hurled towards police, who responded by using tear gas and rubber bullets.

It was this chaos, his critics say, that Donald Trump wanted to provoke.

Trump’s decision to call in 2,000 National Guard troops, several hundred of whom were on the streets of LA on Sunday, was taken without consultation with the California governor and LA mayor, and marked an extraordinary escalation by the president.

The military arrived on Sunday morning and was ordered to guard federal buildings, after two days of protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.

As part of Trump’s closed border policy, ICE has been ordered to find, detain and deport as many illegal immigrants as possible, and it was these raids that stoked the first signs of protest on Friday into the weekend.

By midday Sunday, the military was surrounded by protesters outside the Metropolitan Detention Centre in downtown LA. It was here that many immigrants had been held before being shipped off to detention facilities.

The walls and floors are covered in expletive-ridden graffiti, reading f*** ICE.

The Los Angeles police soon split the crowd and drove a wedge between the National Guard and the crowd.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has called Donald Trump’s acts those of a “dictator, not a president”.

He’s formally requested that the Trump administration withdraw the National Guard. The White House say the military will remain there until order is restored. Five hundred marines are still on standby.

Los Angeles Police Department police chief Jim McDonnell, asked whether the National Guard was needed, said: “This thing has gotten out of control.”

He said that although the LAPD would not initially have requested assistance from the National Guard, the disorder had caused him to reevaluate his assessment.

Several people were arrested.

Sky News witnessed a young woman, who called herself Gabriella, riding her motorbike at speed towards a line of police officers.

One of the police officers used his arm to push her off the bike. She said she was protesting because her “people were being rounded up.”

Politicians on both sides of the aisle condemned the violence, but some vehemently disagreed about what actions led to the escalation.

US

National Guard to be deployed to LA immigration ‘riots’ – as Trump claims state officials ‘can’t do their jobs’

Published

2 days ago

June 8, 2025

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National Guard to be deployed to LA immigration 'riots' - as Trump claims state officials 'can't do their jobs'

The National Guard will be deployed to Los Angeles after “riots” in response to immigration raids extended into a second day.

California Governor Gavin Newsom confirmed that the Trump administration is deploying “2,000 soldiers” to Los Angeles after local police used tear gas, stun guns, and riot shields to push back immigration protesters on Saturday.

Demonstrations began outside the Los Angeles Federal Building in the downtown area of LA on Friday after officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carried out raids in the area.

On Saturday, several dozen protesters were involved in police standoffs in Paramount, a city south of LA.

Mr Newsom warned in a post on X: “The federal government is sowing chaos so they can have an excuse to escalate. That is not the way any civilized country behaves.”

He described the deployment as “purposefully inflammatory” and claimed it will “only escalate tensions”.

President Donald Trump hit back at Mr Newsom in a post on his social media platform Truth Social on Saturday.

“If Governor Gavin Newscum, of California, and Mayor Karen Bass, of Los Angeles, can’t do their jobs, which everyone knows they can’t, then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!,” he wrote.

Mr Trump’s defence secretary Pete Hegseth claimed that active duty marines would also be mobilised if “violence continues”.

LA mayor Karen Bass said that amid the recovery from this year’s wildfires, “many in our community are feeling fear” following “recent federal immigration enforcement actions” across LA County.

“We’ve been in direct contact with officials in Washington, D.C., and are working closely with law enforcement to find the best path forward,” she said.

“Everyone has the right to peacefully protest, but let me be clear: violence and destruction are unacceptable, and those responsible will be held accountable.”

Reports the guard would be deployed to LA came earlier on Saturday, from Mr Trump’s border tsar Tom Homan on Fox News.

44 arrested in Friday raids

At least 44 people were arrested on suspicion of immigration violations during raids on Friday, with crowds of around “1,000 rioters” forming around the building before some “assaulted law enforcement officers, slashed tires, and defaced taxpayer-funded property”, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

The raids saw street vendors and day workers rounded up across Home Depots, a clothing factory, and a warehouse, Salas of Chirla (The Coalition for Humane Immigration Rights of Los Angeles) said.

In a statement on Saturday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said “violent mobs” had “attacked ICE officers and federal law enforcement agents carrying out basic deportation operations”.

She described such activity as “essential to halting and reversing the invasion of illegal criminals into the United States”.

Ms Leavitt said Californian politicians were “feckless” and had “completely abdicated their responsibility to protect their citizens”, prompting Mr Trump’s order to send in the guard.

Protests spread to second city

On Saturday, protests spread to the Paramount area, where there is a significant Latino population, after demonstrators spotted ICE employees in a Home Depot car park they appeared to be using as a base.

Law enforcement officers faced off protesters at a road junction at around 5pm where a car had been set on fire earlier in the day.

The roads were pictured strewn with trolleys and rubbish bins set on fire, as gas canisters and fireworks were also set off.

Commenting on Saturday’s protests, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office said: “It appeared that federal law enforcement officers were in the area, and that members of the public were gathering to protest.”

Vice President JD Vance claimed that “insurrectionists” were seen “carrying foreign flags” and “attacking immigration enforcement officers” in Paramount.

“One half of America’s political leadership has decided that border enforcement is evil,” he posted on X. “Time to pass President Trump’s beautiful bill and further secure the border.”

The clashes come amid Trump’s nationwide crackdown on illegal migration.

As soon as he was re-elected in January he set a target of arresting 3,000 suspected illegal migrants per day – and promised to lock down the US-Mexico border.