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Belarus drops non-nuclear status on 28 February 2022
Summary
A look back at the day Minsk confirmed that it had revoked its non-nuclear status after a constitutional vote.
What did Belarus announce on 28 February 2022? It confirmed that it had revoked its status as a non-nuclear state, a step that allows the country to host and develop its own nuclear weapons.
The change followed a constitutional referendum held on 27 February 2022. President Alexander Lukashenko had ordered the vote in January 2022. Among the proposed amendments was the renunciation of Belarus's nuclear-free zone status. Other changes covered in the vote would have empowered the All-Belarusian People's Assembly, an extra-parliamentary body composed mostly of state officials, and would have allowed Lukashenko to stay in office for longer.
On 28 February 2022, Lukashenko added a conditional warning. He said he could ask Russia to return nuclear missiles to Belarus if any nuclear weapons were transferred to Poland or Lithuania.
The timing was notable. The referendum campaign had unfolded while Russia amassed troops in both Russia and Belarus ahead of the invasion of Ukraine, and the vote itself took place several days after Russia began its military offensive into Ukraine.
