Belarus announced on Monday that it has commenced joint military exercises with Russia to rehearse the deployment and use of nuclear weapons stationed on its soil by Moscow. The drills involve missile units and warplanes, according to the Belarusian Defense Ministry.
Scope of the Exercises
The maneuvers focus on training forces to covertly move nuclear warheads across significant distances and prepare them for potential deployment. The ministry emphasized that the exercises were pre-planned and not directed against any third-party nations.
Background of Nuclear Deployment
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled the country of 9.5 million people for over three decades, permitted Russia to station tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory. In December 2024, Russia announced the deployment of its latest intermediate-range nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile system in Belarus, which borders Ukraine and NATO members Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania.
Russia has used a conventional variant of the Oreshnik missile—named after the hazelnut tree—to strike Ukrainian targets twice, in November 2024 and January 2025. President Vladimir Putin claimed that the missile's multiple warheads travel at speeds up to Mach 10 and are impossible to intercept, and that a barrage of such missiles could be as devastating as a nuclear attack.
Strategic Implications
Intermediate-range missiles, with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers (310 to 3,400 miles), were previously banned under a Soviet-era treaty abandoned by the U.S. and Russia in 2019. In 2024, Russia revised its nuclear doctrine, extending its nuclear umbrella to cover Belarus. Putin stated that while Moscow retains control over the nuclear weapons deployed to Belarus, Minsk could select targets in the event of a conflict.
Reactions
Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya condemned the drills, asserting that the presence of Russian nuclear weapons has turned Belarus into a target. “Lukashenko has turned Belarus into a platform for Russian threats, but Belarusians don’t need these weapons,” she told the Associated Press. “Only a free Belarus will become a source of security, not nuclear blackmail, in Europe.”
The Lukashenko government has faced repeated Western sanctions for human rights abuses and for enabling Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The joint drills underscore the deepening military integration between Minsk and Moscow amid heightened regional tensions.
