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Belarus drops its non-nuclear status
Summary
A retrospective on the Belarusian announcement of 28 February 2022, made a day after a constitutional referendum.
What did it mean when Belarus said it was no longer a non-nuclear state? On 28 February 2022, Belarus confirmed that it had revoked that status, a step that allowed the country to host and develop its own nuclear weapons.
The announcement followed a constitutional referendum held on 27 February 2022. President Alexander Lukashenko had ordered the vote in January 2022. Among the proposed changes were provisions that renounced Belarus's nuclear-free zone status. The changes also empowered the All-Belarusian People's Assembly, an extra-parliamentary body composed mostly of state officials.
On 28 February 2022, Lukashenko also set out a condition. He said he could ask Russia to return nuclear missiles to Belarus if any nuclear weapons were transferred to Poland or Lithuania.
The wider backdrop
The vote took place while Russia had amassed troops in both Russia and Belarus ahead of its invasion of Ukraine. The referendum itself was held several days after Russia began its military offensive into Ukraine.
The result was that, by 28 February 2022, the constitutional barrier to hosting nuclear weapons in Belarus had been removed, and the country's president had linked any use of that option to the possible movement of nuclear weapons to two of its neighbours.
