Nuclear tensions rise between Russia and neighboring countries.

Russia's plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus have been denounced by Ukraine as a desperate Kremlin attempt to avoid military defeat and "threaten the world with nuclear apocalypse." China, without naming Russia, made clear its opposition to the planned deployment. The US and China have called for the abolition of nuclear-sharing arrangements and advocate no deployment of nuclear weapons abroad by all nuclear weapons states. Russia insists it is not transferring nuclear weapons but "operational tactical missile complexes," which will be under Russian control.