- Category
- World
What Russian Nuclear Weapons Could Belarus Practice Using in New Drills?
Prefer U24 Media on Google
- Authors
![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
Belarus has launched military drills focused on the combat use and support of nuclear weapons, raising fresh concerns for Ukraine because Russian tactical nuclear weapons deployed in Belarus are linked to delivery systems such as Iskander missile complexes, Defense Express reported on May 19.
The Belarusian Defense Ministry said the exercises will run from May 19 to May 21 and involve military units responsible for missile forces and aviation.
We bring you stories from the ground. Your support keeps our team in the field.
According to Defense Express, the main focus is on practicing the use of nuclear weapons from “unplanned” or unprepared areas across Belarusian territory.
“The main feature of this event will be checking readiness to perform combat-use tasks from unprepared areas across the entire territory of the Republic of Belarus. The main emphasis will be on practicing secrecy, movement over long distances, calculations for the use of forces and means,” the Belarusian Defense Ministry said.
Minsk claimed the drills are planned and are not directed against other countries. Defense Express noted, however, that Russia’s own announcement did not include a similar reassurance, even though Moscow’s deployment of tactical nuclear weapons and delivery systems in Belarus effectively moves nuclear strike capabilities closer to targets that would otherwise be harder to reach from Russian territory.
🇷🇺🇧🇾🇪🇺 Russia has launched nationwide nuclear force drills involving the simulated preparation and potential deployment of tactical nuclear weapons based in Belarus.
— WAR (@warsurv) May 19, 2026
The exercises, scheduled to continue through May 21, reportedly include nearly all elements of Russia’s strategic… pic.twitter.com/uaXuRvKrNM
The key question is which nuclear delivery systems Belarusian forces are training with. Belarus received delivery platforms in 2023, including modernized aircraft and missile systems, while the nuclear warheads themselves remain under Russian control.
On the aviation side, Belarus has officially named the Su-25 attack aircraft as carriers of Russian free-fall nuclear bombs. Defense Express described that choice as questionable because the Su-25 is a subsonic battlefield aircraft that the Soviet Union itself did not treat as a serious nuclear strike platform.
The outlet noted that if actually used in such a role, the aircraft would function as a one-way delivery system.
-1d9fa7480e5881fc68e774e53f4fa441.jpg)
Because of that, Defense Express suggested the public emphasis on Su-25s may partly be disinformation, while real adaptation work may have involved Belarusian Su-30 fighters. Belarus currently operates eight of those aircraft.
The more realistic and dangerous nuclear delivery platform is the Iskander operational-tactical missile system. Its ballistic and cruise missiles can carry nuclear warheads, and Belarus has publicly shown both types.
Depending on the missile, those systems could strike targets at ranges of up to 500 kilometers or up to 2,500 kilometers.
Belarus has also discussed plans to equip its Polonez rocket systems with nuclear warheads. Those systems use Chinese M20 missiles with a range of up to 300 kilometers, but no final confirmation of such work has been announced.
According to Defense Express, the overall structure of the drills resembles Soviet-era nuclear weapons training, where the key task was coordinating the transfer of nuclear warheads from specialized storage facilities to delivery units in the field.
For aircraft, such training would normally take place at a designated forward airfield. For missile systems, crews would be expected to meet nuclear warhead convoys somewhere in the field, load the warheads quickly, and move to a launch area.
Defense Express noted that Soviet veterans often described similar exercises either as carefully staged demonstrations or as chaotic operations.
The outlet also pointed to a revealing detail from Belarusian official materials in 2024: instead of showing actual nuclear bombs for Su-25 aircraft, authorities appeared to blur out external fuel tanks, suggesting even Belarusian officials may not know exactly what the relevant nuclear weapons look like.
Earlier, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said Belarus will “selectively mobilize” military units and prepare them for possible combat operations following a large-scale inspection of the country’s armed forces.
Discuss this article:
-4a56a6b482ec132402c16ef6fcabf9a2.png)
-111f0e5095e02c02446ffed57bfb0ab1.jpeg "Photo of Roman Kohanets")