Russia has launched nuclear war games and moved Iskander-M missiles into Belarus, on the doorstep of the European Union, prompting Ukraine to rush troops to its northern border and drawing condemnation from Nato.
The Russian defence ministry released a press statement and video footage to make the threat clear. Exercises began on May 18 and involve the Strategic Missile Forces, the Northern and Pacific Fleets, the Long-Range Aviation Command, and part of the forces of the Leningrad and Central Military Districts. Belarus's defence ministry insisted the drills were not intended to threaten any nation, saying their aim was to improve personnel training, verify readiness, and practise the delivery of nuclear munitions.
It remains unclear whether the nuclear-capable missiles have been fitted with warheads. Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte warned that any Russian nuclear attack would be met with a devastating reaction, while the source notes that Russian generals involved in previous nuclear threats have been contacted individually by allied intelligence and told in graphic and aggressive terms that they would not survive any attempt to use nuclear weapons.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia was trying to draw Belarus deeper into its war, with possible operations against the Chernihiv-Kyiv direction or directly against a Nato country from Belarusian territory. Ukraine has reinforced its northern border and deployed forces to protect against infiltrators on the route used during Russia's failed assault on the capital in 2022.
The war games come as Russian forces face heavy losses in eastern Ukraine, losing around 35,000 men each month. The exercises involve 64,000 personnel, more than 7,800 pieces of equipment, over 200 missile-launch systems, 140 aircraft, 73 surface vessels, and 13 submarines, eight of which are strategic missile submarines.
