Belarus
Country Spotlight
Belarus gained independence following the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and inherited a nuclear weapons infrastructure. It transferred all remaining nuclear weapons to Russia by 1996. Today, Belarus is a close ally of Russia and participated in Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In February 2022, Ukraine amended its constitution to allow Russia to deploy nuclear weapons on Belarussian territory.
See Belarus' performance in
Region Former Soviet Union
Article 18 Until 2022, enshrined Belarus's non-nuclear weapon status
1992 Transferred all Soviet chemical weapons back to Russia
1st Nuclear power plant currently under construction
Nuclear
- 2022 constitutional change renounced Belarus's non-nuclear weapon status
- In August 2022, announced upgrades to its Su-25 fighter aircraft to carry nuclear weapons
- Possesses 230 kg of highly-enriched uranium (HEU); talks to repatriate HEU to Russia collapsed in 2011
Nuclear Disarmament Belarus
Biological
- Has never possessed an offensive biological weapons program
Tutorial on Biological Weapons Nonproliferation
Belarus Overview
Missile
- Did not inherit any major missile production or design facilities from the Soviet Union
- Collaborates with Russia on missile design, production, and defense
- In June 2022, Russia stated it would transfer Iskander-M nuclear-capable missile systems to Belarus
Tutorial on Missiles and Other WMD Delivery Systems
The CNS Global Missile Defense Engagements Database
Chemical
- Has not attempted to restart a chemical weapons program since the removal of Soviet chemical weapons in the 1990s
Tutorial on Chemical Weapons Nonproliferation
NTI Tutorials
Treaties and Regimes Memberships
- NTI
- CNS
The CNS North Korea Missile Test Database
A collection of missile tests including the date, time, missile name, launch agency, facility name, and test outcome.
A Joint Assessment Mechanism for High-Consequence Biological Events
Palais des Nations, Room XXIII, Geneva
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8:45 am - 9:45 am CET
Diverse Voices in Peace and Security: Talia Boyd on the Importance of Including Indigenous Perspectives
Education Center