Belarus announced on Monday that it had launched a military exercise aimed at using nuclear weapons. According to Minsk, the maneuvers are not a security threat to the region or directed against any country. Belarus has Russia’s nuclear weapons on its territory, TASR reports, according to a Reuters report.
“The aim of the exercise is to increase the level of training of personnel, test the readiness of the airborne forces to fulfill their tasks and organize combat operations,” the Belarusian Defense Ministry said in a statement, adding that in cooperation with the Russian side, part of the maneuvers is also the training of the delivery of nuclear ammunition and its preparation for use.
As of 2023, Belarus has Russian tactical nuclear weapons on its territory, but they remain under Moscow’s control and command, Reuters recalled. In December of last year, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced that a new Russian medium-range ballistic missile Orešnik (Lieska) capable of carrying a nuclear warhead had been deployed in his country.
Belarus is a former Soviet republic and a key ally of Russia. Moscow also used its territory at the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi warned again last week that Russia is trying to get Minsk more involved in the war. Since the beginning of the invasion, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Kremlin officials have frequently threatened to use nuclear weapons to deter the West from further aid to Ukraine.
