Russia says nuclear munitions sent to Belarus for joint drills

Russia said it delivered nuclear munitions to field storage facilities in Belarus as part of a three-day exercise that began Tuesday, adding another layer of nuclear signaling to a country Moscow used as a launchpad for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The drills involve 64,000 people across Russia and Belarus, including Strategic Missile Forces, the Northern and Pacific fleets, long-range aviation, and units from the Leningrad and Central military districts.

Ukraine moved quickly to blunt any spillover risk. The Security Service of Ukraine said its units and the army were carrying out enhanced security measures in the northern regions bordering Belarus, with stepped-up checks and controls of people and property. The response underscored how closely Kyiv is watching Belarus, whose territory borders Ukraine and three NATO members, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania.

The military activity comes with a clear political message, but little sign yet of a direct battlefield shift. Belarus said its own joint drills with Russia began Monday and involve missile units and warplanes practicing the delivery of nuclear weapons, along with preparation for their use, covert movement over large distances and operations from unprepared or unplanned locations. Minsk said the maneuvers had been planned in advance and were not aimed at any third country.

The timing still carries weight. Alexander Lukashenko agreed in 2023 to host Russian tactical nuclear missiles in Belarus, and Russia’s revised 2024 nuclear doctrine placed Belarus under Moscow’s nuclear umbrella. Vladimir Putin has said Russia will keep control of the weapons deployed there, while allowing Belarus to help select targets in the event of conflict.

Kyiv cast the drills as something broader than routine military training. The Foreign Ministry said the exercises violate the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty by involving a non-nuclear state in preparations tied to nuclear weapons use. Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned on May 15 that Moscow was intensifying efforts to push Lukashenko into taking a more direct role in the war, and on May 21 said Ukraine was preparing responses to any possible course of enemy action.

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said the deployment of Russian nuclear weapons had turned Belarus into a target. That danger is sharpened by Russia’s announcement in December that the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile system had entered service in Belarus, and by Reuters reporting that Russia has already used a conventionally armed version of Oreshnik against Ukraine in November 2024 and January 2025.