Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, left, and Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin exchange documents during a meeting after a session of the Council of Defense Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Minsk, Belarus, Thursday, May 25, 2023. ( Vadim Savitsky/Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

While the West is training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 jets, the Russians are moving tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus on Ukraine’s doorstep. It is difficult to see the move as anything other than a clear warning to Nato: Stop before the situation gets out of control.

Putin said in March that they would move nuclear weapons to Belarus. Now it has happened.

The transfer of nuclear weapons has started, Belarusian President, Alexander Lukashenko, told reporters during a visit to Moscow, Russia.

Russia and Belarus signed an agreement on Thursday to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, the Russian news agency Tass reported on Thursday.

The two countries are close allies, Russian forces used Belarus when they invaded Ukraine last February. Russia has not commented on the move of weapons. (NTB)

Soldiers in Belarus receive training in the use of the Iskander missile, which can be equipped with both conventional weapons and nuclear warheads.

If a single such missile is used with a tactical nuclear warhead, the war will have crossed a threshold many have warned against. It will be difficult to reverse. Washington has threatened serious consequences.