WATCH | Ukraine calls for UN Security Council session over Putin's nuclear plans

Ukraine on Sunday fiercely criticised plans by Russian President Vladimir Putin to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus and called for an emergency UN Security Council session to address the move.

Putin announced the decision on Saturday, saying it would not violate nuclear non-proliferation promises and Russia would not hand off control of the weapons to Belarus.

In a statement, Kyiv's foreign ministry described it as “another provocative step” by Moscow that undermines “the international security system as a whole”.

“Russia once again confirms its chronic inability to be a responsible steward of nuclear weapons as a means of deterrence and prevention of war, not as a tool of threats and intimidation,” the ministry said.