Russia has launched nuclear exercises with Belarus to prepare for the event of an “aggression threat,” state-run news agency TASS reports.
According to the report, the drills involve “64,000 personnel, more than 7,800 pieces of armament, military and special equipment, including over 200 missile launchers, more than 140 aircraft, 73 surface ships and 13 submarines, among them eight strategic missile-carrying submarine cruisers.”
The report further states that the drills aim to “refine the skills of work of the commanding and operational staff” for better organization, preparation, and “preventing aggression.”
Belarus’ Ministry of Defense said the “main feature” of the tests is to assess readiness to “carry out combat missions from unprepared areas throughout the territory of the Republic of Belarus. The main emphasis will be on working out issues of secrecy, moving over considerable distances, and conducting crews for the use of forces and means.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the drills, stating in a social media post that they “represent an unprecedented challenge to the global security architecture.”
“The joint practice of conducting strikes directly violates Articles I and II of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which strictly prohibit nuclear-weapon states from transferring control over weapons of mass destruction technology and non-nuclear-weapon signatories from receiving it,” the statement read, adding that the militarization of Belarus “not only undermines trust in international law but also firmly cements Minsk as an accomplice in Russian nuclear blackmail.”
Last year, President Trump directed the Pentagon to begin conducting nuclear weapons tests. “The United States has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country. This was accomplished, including a complete update and renovation of existing weapons, during my First Term in office,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Because of the tremendous destructive power, I HATED to do it, but had no choice! Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within 5 years.”
He stated at the time that the U.S. will “start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis.”
