TALLINN, Estonia — Russia and Belarus inked an agreement Thursday that formalizes the deployment of Moscow’s tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of its ally, albeit control of the weapons remains with Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced earlier this year the deployment of shorter-range weaponry in Belarus, which was largely interpreted as a threat to the West as it increased military backing for Ukraine.

The deployment date has yet to be confirmed, but Putin has stated that storage facilities for the weapons will be finished in Belarus by July 1.

It is also unknown how many nuclear weapons Belarus will keep. The US administration believes Russia possesses around 2,000 tactical nuclear weapons, which include aircraft bombs, short-range missile warheads, and artillery rounds.

Tactical nuclear weapons are designed to eliminate enemy troops and weaponry on the battlefield. They have a far shorter range and much lower yield than nuclear warheads mounted on long-range strategic missiles capable of annihilating entire cities.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko warned in Moscow that “the movement of nuclear weapons has begun,” although it was unclear whether any had arrived in his country. Lukashenko, who cut short a Victory Day appearance in Red Square on May 9 before reappearing in public on May 15, was attending a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council with Putin and the leaders of Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.

Russia inked an agreement Thursday that formalizes the deployment of Moscow’s tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of its ally.

The agreement was signed as Russia prepared for a counteroffensive against Ukraine. Both Russian and Belarussian officials characterized the move as motivated by Western antagonism.

“The deployment of nonstrategic nuclear weapons is an effective response to the aggressive policy of countries hostile to us,” Belarusian Defence Minister Viktor Khrenin stated in Minsk during a meeting with Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.

“In the context of an extremely sharp escalation of threats on Russia’s and Belarus’ western borders, a decision was made to take military-nuclear countermeasures,” Shoigu stated.

Putin has claimed that by stationing tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, Russia was following in the footsteps of the United States, adding that the US has nuclear weapons in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkey.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, an exiled Belarusian opposition leader, denounced the move.

“We must do everything possible to prevent Putin’s plan to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus, as this will ensure Russia’s control over Belarus for many years to come,” Tsikhanouskaya told The Associated Press. “This will jeopardise Ukraine’s and Europe’s security even more.”

According to Aliaksandr Alesin, an independent Belarusian military analyst, almost two-thirds of Russia’s stockpile of medium-range nuclear-tipped missiles was housed in Belarus during the Cold War, and dozens of Soviet-era storage bunkers may still be deployed.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, an exiled Belarusian opposition leader, denounced the move.

Following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Soviet nuclear weapons stationed in Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan were transferred to Russia in a deal negotiated by the United States.

“Documents on the return of nuclear weapons were defiantly signed in Minsk just at the moment when Ukraine declared a counteroffensive and Western countries were handing over weapons to Kyiv,” Alesin told the AP.

“This Belarusian nuclear balcony should dampen the mood of Western politicians, because nuclear missiles can cover Ukraine, all of Poland, the Baltic states, and parts of Germany.”

Khrenin also revealed preparations to “build up the combat potential of the regional grouping of Russian and Belarusian troops,” including the delivery to Minsk of the nuclear-capable Iskander-M missile system and the S-400 anti-aircraft missile system.

Russia and Belarus have a treaty under which the Kremlin subsidizes the Belarusian economy with loans and subsidizes Russian oil and gas. Russia utilized Belarusian territory as a staging area for its invasion of neighboring Ukraine, and it has kept several troops and weaponry there.

SOUrCE – (AP)

MIAMI, Fla. – Lolita, an orca whale held captive for more than a half-century, is being prepared for possible repatriation to her home waters in Washington’s Puget Sound by carers at a South Florida seaside park.

But the move has yet to be finalized, and veterinarians and trainers told WPLG in Miami this week that they’re working with Lolita to ensure she’s strong enough to survive the travel and adjust to her new surroundings.

For years, animal rights advocates have been pushing to have Lolita, also known as Tokitae or Toki, released from her tank at the Miami Seaquarium. The Dolphin Company, the park’s owner, and the nonprofit Friends of Toki revealed a plan in March to relocate the 57-year-old orca to a natural marine habitat with financial support from Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay.

Lolita is doing well, according to Jessica Comolli, director of the Miami Seaquarium’s animal health department. Since 2020, the orca has had two health scares but has recovered.

Lolita, an orca whale held captive for more than a half-century.

Lolita stopped performing last spring as part of the park’s new exhibitor’s license with the United States Department of Agriculture. She hasn’t been seen in public since. After taking over the Seaquarium last year, The Dolphin Company CEO Eduardo Albor said they spend more than $500,000 to restore Lolita’s water quality.

New modifications have been completed recently to improve the pool’s filtering and temperature regulation. According to trainer Michael Partica, new chillers may now lower the temperature to resemble the waters of the Pacific Northwest.

Any plan to relocate Lolita would still need to be approved by federal and state regulators, which might take months or years. The 5,000-pound (2,267-kilogram) Lolita fish has spent years in a tank 80 feet by 35 feet (24 meters by 11 meters) in size and 20 feet (6 meters) deep.

SOURCE – (AP)

GUAM, HAGATNA — On Thursday, Typhoon Mawar passed over Guam as a powerful Category 4 storm, lashing the US Pacific island territory with heavy rain, powerful winds, and a dangerous storm surge and knocking out power to many communities where terrified residents hunkered down for the night in homes and shelters.

The center of the typhoon passed over the northern tip of Guam on Wednesday evening, according to the National Weather Service. It is the most powerful storm to strike the territory of more than 150,000 people in decades. According to the meteorological agency, the maximum sustained winds persisted at 140 mph (225 kph) late Wednesday and were expected to increase throughout Thursday.

Social media videos showed downed trees, a flipped pickup truck, solar panels flying into the air, pieces of a multistory hotel wall collapsing and exposing rebar, and storm surges and waves slamming through coastal reefs. The initial extent of the destruction was difficult to determine, with power and internet outages making a connection with the remote island difficult to impossible while the storm dug an excruciatingly slow path.

Late Wednesday, the storm was moving northwest at 8 mph (13 kph), with a minor increase in speed forecast over the next day. It has been a slow-moving typhoon compared to others in the vicinity, which have traveled at speeds ranging from 10 to 15 mph (16 to 25 kph), according to NWS Guam warning coordination meteorologist Landon Aydlett.

According to Landon Aydlett, long-term forecasts locate Mawar deep in the Philippine Sea, bending northward but remaining northeast of the Philippines. He believes the storm might attain super typhoon classification, with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (241 kph) or higher.

The storm brushed the extreme northern tip of Guam, but it was otherwise in the canal between the island and its neighbor to the north, Rota, according to Landon Aydlett. Peak winds reached 105 mph (169 kph) at the weather service office in Guam, but the agency lost its wind sensors afterward, he said. According to him, the building trembled with a “constant, low rumbling,” and its doors and windows swayed.

“We have peak conditions for a couple more hours.” “I think thrashing is the word,” he stated over the phone. “At this point, there are trees everywhere.” Many people will be surprised when daylight returns tomorrow.”

The weather service reported that lightning became a greater hazard as the night progressed. On Thursday morning, a flash flood warning was issued.

The storm might attain super typhoon classification, with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (241 kph) or higher.

Powerful winds ripped a granite countertop from a hotel’s outdoor bar in Tumon, on the island’s northeastern shore, and flung it four feet in the air. As windows buckled and creaked, guests tried to stack chairs against hotel doors that were being blasted in by the gusts.

The storm’s center made landfall on Guam at about 9 p.m. local time Wednesday, which was Wednesday morning in the continental United States. Guam is located west of the International Date Line, ahead of the United States mainland and Hawaii, which are located 3,800 miles (6,115 km) to the east. The Philippine capital, Manila, lies 1,600 miles (1,575 km) west.

A typhoon warning was also issued for Rota, an island in the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Tropical storm warnings were issued for Tinian and Saipan in the Northern Marianas. Since Category 5 Super Typhoon Yutu hit in 2018, some individuals in those areas have been living in temporary shelters or tents.

The weather service warned of a highly dangerous and life-threatening condition in Guam, advising residents to seek shelter and stay there for the next few hours.

“This is going to be a long night.” “It’s going to be scary because there’s no electricity unless you have a generator,” Brandon Aydlett, the weather service’s scientific and operations officer and Landon Aydlett’s twin brother, said in a Facebook Live video. “Confidentially reassure your youngsters. It’s going to get a little terrifying as the night progresses. The sounds are audible: the winds are howling and objects are breaking. Simply being together and talking to each other will cause things to slow down towards midnight and continue until Thursday morning.”

He urged people to stay in shelters and get as much sleep as possible before “a long day tomorrow as we start the recovery process.”

By the afternoon, many settlements on the 212-square-mile (549-square-kilometer) island had lost power, and some to the south had lost water service. Forecasters anticipated up to 25 inches (64 centimeters) of rain and a life-threatening storm surge of 4 to 6 feet (1.2 to 2 meters), prompting a flash flood alert for the island.

Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero advised coastal, low-lying, and flood-prone district residents to evacuate to higher ground ahead of the storm. Mount Lamlam in the southwest is the highest peak on the island, rising 1,334 feet (406 meters). However, much of Tamuning’s seaside tourism sector, where numerous resorts are located, is close to sea level.

Residents were picked up at island community centers and transported to 11 elementary schools converted into shelters. Village officials advised residents to secure loose objects in their yards and take shelter immediately. Some used a loudhailer to disseminate the word, while others used social media. As the rain and wind intensified, the power flickered intermittently, and officials estimated roughly 900 people were in shelters.

Guerrero stated that an emergency declaration granted by President Joe Biden will help mobilize resources to Guam, which is “especially critical given our distance from the continental United States.”

Reuel Drilon, a resident of low-lying Agat on the southern coast, said practically every home in the community has a mango tree, which officials warned might create obstacles and dangerous flying projectiles.

“A lot of folks are keeping their eyes on trees,” he remarked before the storm arrived.

Guam is a vital Pacific US military center, and the Pentagon controls roughly one-third of the island. Rear Adm. Benjamin Nicholson, commander of Joint Region Marianas, authorized the evacuation of defense personnel, dependents, and employees from affected regions.

The military said it put its ships out to sea as a precaution. It flew its planes off the island or parked them in secure hangars. Any surviving personnel on the island were taking cover. According to the Pentagon, around 6,800 US service troops are stationed in Guam.

SOURCE – (AP)