IV 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 562 
Responding to the threat posed by the Russian Federation’s deployment 
of tactical nuclear weapons, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 27, 2023 
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina (for himself and Mr. COHEN) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Responding to the threat posed by the Russian Federation’s 
deployment of tactical nuclear weapons, and for other 
purposes. 
Whereas the military doctrine of the Russian Federation 
states ‘‘The Russian Federation reserves the right to use 
nuclear weapons in response to . . . large-scale aggres-
sion utilizing conventional weapons in situations critical 
to the national security of the Russian Federation’’; 
Whereas it is estimated that the Russian Federation has an 
arsenal of as many as 2,000 tactical nuclear weapons; 
Whereas President Vladimir Putin has expressed a willing-
ness to use tactical nuclear weapons when he stated ‘‘If 
the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we 
will without doubt use all available means to protect Rus-
sia and our people—this is not a bluff . . . [a]nd those 
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who try to blackmail us with nuclear weapons should 
know that the weathervane can turn and point towards 
them’’; 
Whereas, on March 23, 2023, Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy 
Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federa-
tion, stated ‘‘Every day when they [the west] provide 
Ukraine with foreign weapons brings the nuclear apoca-
lypse closer’’; 
Whereas, in May 2023, the Russian Federation and the Re-
public of Belarus formalized an agreement that allows for 
the deployment of the Russian Federation’s tactical nu-
clear weapons in the Republic of Belarus; 
Whereas the deployment of the Russian Federation’s tactical 
nuclear weapons in the Republic of Belarus would be the 
first such deployment of these weapons outside of the 
Russian Federation since the fall of the Soviet Union in 
1991; 
Whereas, on June 17, 2023, President Vladimir Putin con-
firmed that the Russian Federation had begun to deploy 
tactical nuclear weapons within the Republic of Belarus 
and confirmed that the deployment of these weapons 
would be completed by the end of the summer; 
Whereas, on June 17, 2023, following the announcement of 
the Russian Federation’s deployment of tactical nuclear 
weapons in the Republic of Belarus, President Biden ex-
pressed publically that such a move was ‘‘totally irrespon-
sible’’; 
Whereas, on June 19, 2023, President Biden stated, ‘‘I 
[worry] about Putin using tactical nuclear weapons’’, and 
that the threat of the Russian Federation using such a 
weapon is ‘‘real’’; 
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Whereas the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in the 
Republic of Belarus by the Russian Federation poses an 
increased threat to not only Ukraine but also our NATO 
allies and United States troops stationed in nations along 
the Belarusian border; 
Whereas the use of a tactical nuclear weapon or an attack 
that results in nuclear fallout of any kind would impact 
Europe and NATO member states; and 
Whereas Article V of the North Atlantic Treaty states ‘‘. . . 
an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe 
or North America shall be considered an attack against 
them all and . . . will assist the Party or Parties so at-
tacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert 
with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, 
including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain 
the security . . .’’: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) agrees that the deployment of the Russian 
Federation’s tactical nuclear weapons within the Re-
public of Belarus is a threat to Ukraine and NATO 
member States; 
(2) views the use of any tactical nuclear weapon 
by the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus, 
or their proxies, or the destruction of a nuclear facil-
ity, dispersing radioactive contaminates into NATO 
territory causing significant harm to human life, as 
an attack on NATO requiring an immediate re-
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sponse, including the implementation of Article V of 
the North Atlantic Treaty; and 
(3) urges the current administration to consult 
with NATO leaders and other European partners to 
develop a comprehensive response to minimize the 
threat to civilians and coordinate a diplomatic and 
military response commensurate with the situation. 
Æ 
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