ALBAWABA- Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko jointly monitored large-scale nuclear exercises involving Russian and Belarusian forces, highlighting the growing military integration between the two allies amid heightened tensions with the West.
Speaking during a video conference broadcast by Belarusian state media, Putin described the Russia-Belarus nuclear triad as a key guarantee of the sovereignty and security of the Union State.
“In light of escalating global tensions and emerging threats, our nuclear triad must remain a reliable guarantor of sovereignty, strategic deterrence, and global balance,” Putin said.
The exercises, held from May 19 to 21, involved land, sea, and air components of Russia’s nuclear forces and included practical launches of ballistic and cruise missiles. According to the Russian Defence Ministry, the drills mobilized more than 64,000 personnel, over 200 missile launchers, 73 aircraft, strategic submarines, and naval assets.
Military activities included Belarus-based MiG-31 fighter crews practicing launches of Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, operations involving the Iskander-M missile system, and exercises by strategic bomber units.
Belarusian forces also conducted drills focused on handling and deploying tactical nuclear munitions in coordination with Russian units, including a live launch of an Iskander-M ballistic missile.
Lukashenko said the exercises were defensive in nature and posed “no threat to anyone,” while stressing that both countries were prepared to defend their shared territory stretching “from Brest to Vladivostok.”
The drills come amid continued Russian deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus under an agreement reached in 2023 and against the backdrop of the ongoing war in Ukraine and strained relations with NATO.
Moscow and Minsk have insisted the exercises were planned in advance and were not directed against any specific country, while maintaining that nuclear weapons would only be used under exceptional circumstances.
The maneuvers have nevertheless raised concerns in Ukraine and among NATO members, who view the exercises as another escalation in Russian nuclear signaling and a demonstration of the expanding military partnership between Moscow and Minsk.
