Belarus and Russia Conduct Joint Nuclear Forces Drills

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko participated for the first time in drills that rehearsed Russia’s use of tactical and strategic nuclear weapons. Between Tuesday and Thursday, he and Russian President Vladimir Putin oversaw joint exercises involving hundreds of missile launchers, warplanes, warships, and nuclear submarines across territory from Eastern Europe to the Pacific.

Lukashenko stated that Belarus and Russia threaten no one but are prepared to defend their shared territory from Brest to Vladivostok. He also said Belarus will not be drawn into the war in Ukraine and offered to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for talks.

Putin said the drills were intended to raise the readiness of strategic and tactical nuclear forces and to incorporate lessons from Russia’s operations in Ukraine. During the exercises, the two leaders ordered the launch of a Yars intercontinental hypersonic missile that traveled 5,750 km from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome to the Kamchatka Peninsula in under 20 minutes.

Russia supplied Belarus with modified Su-25 aircraft and Iskander-M ballistic missiles with a reported range of up to 500 km. Nuclear weapons are reportedly stored at the Asipovichi military range, less than 200 km north of the Ukrainian border.

NATO and Ukraine NATO Secretary-General Mark

Rutte said on Wednesday that any Russian nuclear use against Ukraine would draw a devastating response. He is scheduled to chair a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Sweden on Friday. Zelenskyy stated on May 15 that Russia is involving Belarus in new acts of aggression and warned on May 21 that the drills could precede a renewed offensive toward northern Ukraine and Kyiv.

The head of the Kyiv-based Penta think tank assessed that current Russian forces in Belarus remain insufficient for such an offensive. Lukashenko said Belarus has maintained economic ties with Russia while resisting full political merger and has recently improved relations with the United States.