Belarus, Russia Launch Live Nuclear Weapons Drills

(MENAFN) Belarus has kicked off joint military exercises with Russia simulating the combat deployment of nuclear weapons, the Belarusian Defense Ministry announced Monday — a development poised to heighten alarm across Europe amid already elevated East-West tensions.

The ministry said the drills are designed to sharpen the Belarusian armed forces' preparedness to operate "modern weapons," with training components that explicitly include the physical delivery of nuclear munitions and their preparation for battlefield use.

"The purpose of the training is to improve personnel training, test the readiness of weapons, military and special equipment to perform missions, and organize combat deployment from unplanned areas," the ministry said in its official statement.

According to Minsk, the exercises place particular weight on deploying forces from unprepared positions scattered across Belarusian territory, stress-testing units on concealment techniques, long-range movement, and the operational coordination of personnel and equipment under field conditions.

Minsk was quick to frame the drills as routine, insisting the exercises carry no offensive intent. "The exercise is a planned training event within the Union State (alliance between Russia and Belarus), is not directed against third countries, and does not pose a threat to security in the region," the ministry said.

The Union State — the formal political and military alliance binding Russia and Belarus — has served as the institutional framework under which Moscow stationed tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian soil in recent years, a move that drew sharp condemnation from NATO member states and neighboring countries at the time.

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