President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia mentioned he would be capable to place tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus by the summer time, a transfer that threatened to extend tensions with the US and Europe whereas his forces wage conflict in Ukraine.

The Russian chief has repeatedly raised the specter of utilizing nuclear weapons since ordering the full-scale invasion of Ukraine final 12 months. Whereas U.S. officers have mentioned they’ve seen no effort by Russia to maneuver or make use of its nuclear weapons and imagine the danger of their use is low, worries have lingered.

Mr. Putin’s remarks about stationing weapons in Belarus — a prospect he first floated final 12 months — may once more be saber rattling. It will not essentially change the battlefield calculus: Any targets that Moscow can strike from Belarus, which borders three NATO members, it might already strike from Russian territory.

American officers indicated that they didn’t instantly sense an escalation.

In an interview with state media launched on-line on Saturday, Mr. Putin mentioned that development on a storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus could be accomplished by July 1, in accordance with the Tass information company, although it was not instantly clear if or when nuclear weapons could be moved there.

More and more remoted from the West, Mr. Putin has been counting on allies corresponding to Belarus — a rustic bordering Ukraine that was used as a staging floor for Moscow’s full-scale invasion. Mr. Putin claimed that President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus had requested that Moscow station the weapons on his soil. There was no speedy remark from Mr. Lukashenko of Belarus.

Mr. Putin made the feedback throughout a wide-ranging interview for a state tv present devoted to the Russian president referred to as “Moscow. Kremlin. Putin,” which airs on Sunday nights.

In response to a query centered on Britain’s determination to ship weapons containing depleted uranium to Ukraine, Mr. Putin condemned the British transfer after which mentioned he was shifting forward with a plan, first revealed final 12 months, to present Russia the flexibility to base nuclear weapons in Belarus.

However Mr. Putin solid his announcement as “nothing uncommon,” saying the US has lengthy deployed its personal nuclear weapons throughout the borders of its European allies.

“We’re in precept doing all the identical issues that they’ve been doing for many years,” Mr. Putin mentioned. “With out violating, I need to emphasize this, our worldwide obligations on the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons,” he added.

His remarks added some particulars to what’s recognized about Russia’s plan, together with that Moscow would begin coaching Belarusian crews to function the weapons in April and that Russia had retrofitted 10 Belarusian warplanes to have the ability to carry the weapons.

However Mr. Putin was obscure on when Russia would really ship Belarus the nuclear warheads themselves. Requested in a follow-up query by the interviewer, Pavel Zarubin, “when and underneath what situations may the weapons themselves be handed over?,” Mr. Putin responded solely by saying that Russia was replicating the American observe of “nuclear sharing” wherein American nuclear weapons are primarily based in allied international locations like Germany.

Oleksiy Danilov, the top of the Ukrainian Nationwide Safety and Protection Council, accused the Kremlin of taking Belarus “as a nuclear hostage.” Germany’s overseas ministry referred to as Mr. Putin’s announcement “one other try at nuclear intimidation.”

Late on Saturday, the Pentagon launched an electronic mail assertion saying: “We’ve seen stories of Russia’s announcement and can proceed to observe this example.” It added: “We’ve not seen any purpose to regulate our personal strategic nuclear posture nor any indications Russia is making ready to make use of a nuclear weapon. We stay dedicated to the collective protection of the NATO alliance.”

Analysts mentioned that behind Mr. Putin’s bluster, the speedy implications of his feedback for nuclear safety seemed to be minimal.

The Institute for the Research of Warfare, a Washington-based analysis group, dismissed Mr. Putin’s announcement as an “info operation” with little threat of escalation.

“Putin is making an attempt to take advantage of Western fears of nuclear escalation,” it mentioned, including that the group “continues to evaluate that Putin is a risk-averse actor who repeatedly threatens to make use of nuclear weapons with none intention of following by means of to be able to break Western resolve.”

Pavel Podvig, a longtime researcher of Russia’s nuclear forces on the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Analysis in Geneva, mentioned he nonetheless thought-about it unlikely that Russia would really transfer nuclear warheads into Belarus, regardless of Mr. Putin’s newest feedback.

Russian nuclear storage websites are so advanced, Mr. Podvig mentioned, that he doubted {that a} facility in Belarus may very well be able to obtain them by July.

“It’s not a optimistic growth, in fact, however so long as the weapons are in storage the menace will not be speedy,” Mr. Podvig mentioned. “Sure, theoretically, Russia can attain extra targets from Belarus, however the change is marginal.”

Russia has as many as 2,000 tactical nuclear weapons, which have a decrease yield than the strategic variety that may traverse whole continents. A tactical nuclear weapon has by no means been utilized in fight, however one may very well be deployed in various methods, together with by missile or artillery shell.

Christopher F. Schuetze contributed reporting.