Putin announces plan to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus

He's a new escalation from Vladimir Putin. Today he announced he is putting tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, a Russian ally, signaling a clear threat to Ukraine. Monika Alba joins me now from the White House. Monika, this is something Russia hasn't done in decades. Exactly, President Putin said today, Russia does plan to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, which if it does indeed happen, would be the first time since the mid 1990s that Russia would have nuclear weapons based outside the country. Now tactical nukes are generally smaller in explosive power designed for the battlefield, but they have never before been used in combat. And this comes as Russia's invasion of Ukraine rages on and it's worth noting that Belarus shares a border with three NATO members.

In an interview with Russian state television, Mr. Putin said construction of storage facilities for the weapons could be done by July. And the White House responding tonight, saying officials have not seen any reason to adjust US nuclear posture and there's no indication Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon. Jose? Thanks for watching our YouTube channel. Follow today's top stories and breaking news by downloading the NBC News app.

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