Russia and its ally Belarus are conducting nuclear drills this week to simulate a response in the event of “aggression” against them, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said.
The exercise will run from Tuesday and Thursday and involves the Strategic Missile Forces, the Northern and Pacific fleets, the Strategic Aviation Command, and elements of military forces in central and northwestern Russia, the ministry said in a statement.
A total of 64,000 Russian troops, 7,800 military vehicles, 200 missile launchers, 140 aircraft, 73 warships and 13 submarines, including eight strategic missile boats, are participating. The exercise includes “joint preparation for the use of nuclear weapons deployed in Belarus,” the statement said.
Minsk released a statement previewing the exercise on Monday. Belarus has been hosting Russian nuclear weapons since 2023, with the deployment described by the two nations as mirroring a similar practice by the US, which keeps some its arsenal in other NATO states.
The US-led bloc includes three nuclear-armed nations. This year, France proposed a gradual extension of its nuclear umbrella to other EU nations as American commitments to the military organization have been called into question by the administration of US President Donald Trump.
Washington has canceled the planned deployment of nuclear-capable Tomahawk missiles to Germany and ordered a drawdown of its military presence in the country in apparent retaliation for Berlin’s criticism of the war with Iran.
Despite the growing rifts between Western nations, some European governments are determined to maintain a confrontational stance towards Russia.
Just this week, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys urged aggression against the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, claiming that NATO members “must show the Russians that we can penetrate the small fortress they have built” there. In an interview with Neue Zürcher Zeitung, he said the bloc “has the means to raze the Russian air defense and missile bases there to the ground if necessary.”