TOP HEADLINES

•The secretary of Russia's Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, says NATO countries are a party to the conflict in Ukraine, according to excerpts from an interview with Russian government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta on Monday.

• NATO has slammed Vladimir Putin for "dangerous" nuclear rhetoric after the Russian president announced plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

•Nammo, one of Europe's largest manufacturers of ammunition, is facing a delay to an expansion of its factory in Norway because a Tik Tok data storage center is using up of the excess electricity in the area, reports the FT. 

•Russia plans to complete in early 2024 the construction of its coastal infrastructure in the Pacific Ocean for basing nuclear submarines that will carry the Poseidon nuclear capable super torpedoes, TASS news agency reported on Monday.

•Moscow may seek compensation over damage from last year's explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, news agency RIA Novosti reported on Monday, citing a Russian diplomat.

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IN DEPTH 

NATO slammed Vladimir Putin for "dangerous" nuclear rhetoric after the Russian president announced plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, while his forces stepped up shelling of the frontline Ukrainian city of Avdiivka. 

The move, while not unexpected, is one of Russia's most pronounced nuclear signals yet and a warning to NATO over its military support for Ukraine, which has called for a meeting of the U.N. Security Council in response. 

"Russia's nuclear rhetoric is dangerous and irresponsible," NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said on Sunday. "NATO is vigilant and we are closely monitoring the situation. We have not seen any changes in Russia's nuclear posture that would lead us to adjust our own." 

Putin likened his Belarus plan on Saturday to the U.S. stationing its weapons in Europe, insisting that Russia would not violate its nuclear non-proliferation promises. However, Lungescu said Putin's non-proliferation pledge and his description of U.S. weapons deployment overseas were way off the mark. 
 

"Russia's reference to NATO's nuclear sharing is totally misleading. NATO allies act with full respect of their international commitments," she added in a statement. "Russia has consistently broken its arms control commitments." 

Ukraine's security chief, Oleksiy Danilov, said Russia's plan would destabilize Belarus, which he said had been taken "hostage" by Moscow. Others condemning Putin's plan included Lithuania, which said it would call for new sanctions against Moscow and Minsk, while EU policy chief Josep Borrell urged Belarus not to host the weapons and threatened more sanctions. 

Belarus and Russia have close military ties, and Minsk allowed Moscow to use its territory as a staging point for the latter's attack on Ukraine last year. Experts see Russia's move as significant since it had been proud, until now, of not having deployed nuclear weapons outside its borders, unlike the U.S.. This may be the first time since the mid-1990s that it plans to do so. 

The U.S., also a nuclear superpower, played down concerns about Russia's planned deployment. 

"I can tell you we've seen nothing that would indicate Mr. Putin is preparing to use tactical nuclear weapons in any way whatsoever in Ukraine," White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told broadcaster CBC on Sunday. 
 

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