In a first since the 1990s, Russia is planning to station nuclear weapons outside the country. In a March 25 announcement, President Vladimir Putin said Russia plans to deploy nuclear missiles to Belarus, along with a missile system capable of carrying the weapons. “From April 3, we start crew training, and on July 1 we are finishing the construction of a special repository for tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus,” said Putin. NATO condemned Putin’s decision the following day, criticizing his “nuclear rhetoric” and calling it “dangerous and irresponsible.” But in the same statement, NATO seemed to indicate that the decision had not changed their approach, declaring, “We have not seen any changes in Russia’s nuclear posture that would lead us to adjust our own.” [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] While no posturing involving weapons as powerful as nuclear missiles is risk-free, some international observers indicated that Russia still isn’t likely to use its nuclear arsenal, regardless of where it’s stationed.