Strategic Nuclear Drills Forthcoming By Russia And Belarus

(PatriotPostNews.com) — Belarus has announced its plans to join Russian military forces to conduct nuclear weapons drills.

On Monday June 10, the Defense Minister Lieutenant General of Belarus, Viktor Khrenin, revealed the collaboration between the two countries. Russia has already been engaged in the drills, which began at the request of President Vladimir Putin in May. Since their launch, the nuclear drills have been criticized by leaders in the West as having the potential to stir up larger armed conflict.

At the end of 2023, Russia’s government passed along multiple nuclear weapons to Belarus. Meanwhile, Western nations continued to flounder in their relationship with Russia. The joint drills, according to Khrenin, are being used to “increase” Belarusian “readiness” should it need to use “so-called retaliatory weapons.”

He added that his country is more “determined” than it has been in the past to adequately “respond to any threats” lodged against Belarus as well as the “Union State” of the Russian-Belarusian alliance. Khrenin did not go into detail about the specific aspects of the drills.

However, last month’s first phase of the activity reportedly included sending tactical nuclear devices out of storage and into military units. From there, the weapons will be attached to warplanes via missiles and used to conduct deployment practices.

The Belarusian defense ministry also said that the drills are intended as a means of ensuring the country’s “own security” rather than posing an intentional threat or risk to other nations. Despite this assurance, the country has repeatedly cautioned allies in both Europe and the West not to overstep their opinions on the war in Ukraine, citing a lack of successful collaboration with the Belarusian and Russian governments.

The joint military drills come more than a year after Putin initially shared plans to keep tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. The successful transport of these devices was later confirmed by President Alexander Lukashenko in December 2023. However, he did not disclose at the time how many weapons Belarus was keeping in storage for Russia or precisely where they were.