President Putin meets with Belarusian President on tactical nuclear weapons deployment agreement

Russian President Vladimir Putin is believed to have met with Belarusian President Lukashenko, who has agreed to deploy tactical nuclear weapons, in the capital Moscow, and exchanged views on security and other issues between the two countries. On the other hand, in front of the newly appointed U.S. ambassador to Russia, he strongly criticized the United States, claiming that "U.S. support for Ukraine has caused the current crisis."

Russian President Vladimir Putin invited President Lukashenko of neighboring Belarus, an ally, to the Kremlin in Moscow for a meeting on May 5.

At the beginning of the meeting, President Putin stated that the two countries would discuss a number of issues that should be addressed in cooperation and that "this includes cooperation in the international community and security issues between the two countries."

President Putin announced last month that he would deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, and the two leaders are believed to have exchanged views on the deployment of them.

Prior to this, President Putin addressed the newly appointed ambassadors to Russia.

In the presence of U.S. Ambassador Tracy, President Putin strongly criticized the United States, saying, "Unfortunately, the relationship between Russia and the United States, which is directly linked to global security and stability, is in serious danger, and it must be said that the United States' support for a coup d'état in Ukraine in 2014 caused the current crisis."

Orders to implement security measures in four annexed eastern and southern Ukraine's regions

President Putin held a security conference on May 5 and instructed relevant ministers and others to thoroughly implement security measures in the four provinces of eastern and southern Ukraine, which were unilaterally annexed last year.

While ministers attended online, state media showed representatives of pro-Russian flanks in the four provinces' controlled territories sitting on either side of President Putin. It emphasizes Russia's stance of maintaining control over these regions.

In addition, amid the explosion at a café in St. Petersburg, Russia's second largest city, on May 4, the Security Council also discussed the internal security situation, and President Putin said, "There are sufficient grounds to say that Western intelligence agencies are involved in Ukraine's preparations for sabotage and terrorist acts on the Russian side."