Lukashenko Warns Using Nuclear Weapons Stronger Than Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Against 'Aggression'

Ahead of Russia's deployment of its tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus next month, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko hinted he could use them to protect his country from "aggression."

Lukashenko said that Belarus wants to prevent a nuclear conflict but explained the potential circumstances that might lead to it using the Russian nuclear weapons.

"God forbid that I have to make a decision to use these weapons. But there will be no hesitation in the event of an aggression against us," Lukashenko said, according to Belarusian state-owned news outlet BelTA.

Lukashenko said "a response will be immediate" if he determines Belarus is under an imminent threat of an attack, adding that the Russian nuclear weapons in his country would serve as a "deterrent weapon."

When asked about the reasons for deploying Russian tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, Lukashenko said it is "to make sure not a single foreign soldier sets their foot on the Belarusian land again."

The Belarusian leader noted that the Russian tactical nuclear weapons to be deployed to his country were three times more powerful than the U.S.-made atomic bombs that were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of the Second World War in 1945, the Associated Press reported.

However, Lukashenko said there is no need to place strategic nuclear weapons in Belarus, saying that he doesn't want to fight the U.S. and that the tactical nuclear weapons "are enough for me now."

But Lukashenko noted that Belarus is already preparing facilities that can house intercontinental ballistic missiles, just in case.

"If need arises, we are ready to deploy these weapons at any time," the Belarusian president said.

In March, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to deploy his country's tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, noting that the U.S. had deployed its tactical nuclear weapons to its European allies over many decades.

Earlier this month, Putin announced that his country would start deploying tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus on July 7-8, once special storage facilities are constructed.

Putin claimed that "everything is going according to plan" and that Russia would "begin activities related to the deployment" of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus during his recent conversation with Lukashenko at his summer retreat in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

The Russian leader noted that Iskander mobile short-range ballistic missiles, which are capable of delivering nuclear warheads and have a range of 500 kilometers (311 miles), had already been handed over to Belarus.

Meanwhile, Belarus said its Su-25 aircraft had been adapted to carry nuclear warheads.