Ukraine Urgently Requests UN Meeting to Address the Threat of Kremlin’s Nuclear Blackmail

The Ukrainian government has requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to address Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plans to station tactical atomic weapons in Belarus. One Ukrainian official has accused Russia of taking Belarus “as a nuclear hostage.” The announcement comes amid heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine, with a recent explosion in Russia being blamed on a Ukrainian drone. Putin has argued that the move is in response to the West’s increasing military support for Ukraine, and compared it to the US stationing nuclear weapons in allied countries. The US has said it will monitor the implications of the announcement.