TALLINN, Estonia (AP) Russia and Belarus signed a deal Thursday formalizing the deployment of Moscows tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of its ally, although control of the weapons remains in the Kremlin.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the deployment of the shorter-range weapons in Belarus earlier this year in a move widely seen as a warning to the West as it stepped up military support for Ukraine.

When the weapons would be deployed wasnt announced, but Putin has said the construction of storage facilities in Belarus for them would be completed by July 1.