belarus

Belarus allowed Russia to use it as one of the launchpads for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. It has held frequent exercises with Russia and let Russian forces use its bases.

The deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus is Moscow's first move of such warheads outside Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union.

Zakharova insisted that Russia was intent on maintaining the principle that nuclear war was inadmissible.

The deployment is Moscow's first move of such warheads outside Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union.

Putin announced in March he had agreed to deploy such weapons in Belarus, pointing to US deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in a host of European countries over many decades.

The Security Council is the only UN body that can make legally binding decisions such as imposing sanctions and authorizing use of force.

The United States has denounced the prospective deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus but says its stance on the use of such weapons has not been altered.

The United States has said the world faces the gravest nuclear danger since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis because of remarks by President Vladimir Putin during the Ukraine conflict.

Russia moved ahead on Thursday with its plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, whose leader said the warheads were already on the move.

In Washington, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller described the plans as "the latest example of irresponsible behavior that we have seen from Russia."