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- Putin Conflict Announces Agreement to Deploy Tactical Nuclear Weapons in Belarus
An explosion on Sunday that injured three people and created a crater in the city center of Kireyevsk in Russia's Tula region was caused by a Ukrainian Tupolev Tu-141 Strizh, TASS news agency quoted law enforcement as saying.
Three residential buildings were damaged after the blast in Kireyevsk, which is located about 220 km south of Moscow and far from the Russian-Ukrainian border, a regional security agency confirmed to Reuters.
Latvia-based Russian media outlet Meduza reported that the explosion left a crater about 15 meters (50 feet) in diameter and five meters deep (16 feet).
Earlier, Ukraine's top security official on Sunday denounced the Kremlin's plans to place tactical atomic weapons in Belarus and said Russia was taking its ally as a "nuclear hostage."
But Moscow said it was taking the move in response to growing Western military support for Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the plan in a television interview that aired Saturday, saying it was prompted by a UK decision last week to provide Ukraine with armor-piercing projectiles containing depleted uranium.
Putin argued that by deploying its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, Russia was following America's lead. He noted that Washington has nuclear weapons in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey.
"We're doing what they've been doing for decades, stationing them in certain allied countries, preparing launch pads and training their crews," he said.
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- Vladimir Putin
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