Russia and Belarus Conduct Comprehensive Nuclear Drills Across Land, Sea, and Air: Strategic Maneuvers Amplify Global Tensions

MOSCOW – In a dramatic display of military might, trucks loaded with intercontinental ballistic missiles traversed rugged forest roads, while nuclear-powered submarines launched from Arctic and Pacific bases. Meanwhile, aircrews raced to their warplanes as Russia and Belarus conducted the climactic phase of their joint nuclear exercises on Thursday.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko reviewed the Russian short-range nuclear-capable Iskander ballistic missiles at a participating military unit, expressing his long-standing admiration by stating, “I dreamed about this machine a long time ago.”

This three-day exercise, which kicked off on Tuesday, occurred against the backdrop of increasing Ukrainian drone attacks, including those that recently hit Moscow’s outskirts. These attacks, resulting in three fatalities and damage to several buildings and industrial sites, challenge the Kremlin’s narrative that the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, now stretching into its fifth year, remains a distant concern for Russian citizens.

According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, the extensive exercise engaged 64,000 troops, over 200 missile launchers, more than 140 aircraft, 73 surface vessels, and 13 submarines, eight of which are equipped with nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). The focus of the drills is on the “preparation and use of nuclear forces under the threat of aggression,” the ministry stated.

The exercise also emphasized collaboration with Belarus, a key ally housing Russian nuclear weapons. Among the Russian arsenals stationed in Belarus is the advanced intermediate-range nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile system.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly reminded the world about Moscow’s nuclear arsenals after sending troops into Ukraine in February 2022 to try to deter the West from ramping up support for Kyiv.

In 2024, Putin adopted a revised nuclear doctrine, noting that any nation’s conventional attack on Russia that is supported by a nuclear power will be considered a joint attack on his country. That threat was clearly aimed at discouraging the West from allowing Ukraine to strike Russia with longer-range weapons and appears to significantly lower the threshold for the possible use of Moscow’s nuclear arsenal.

The revised doctrine that placed Belarus under the Russian nuclear umbrella. Putin has said that Moscow will retain control of its nuclear weapons deployed in Belarus but would allow its ally to select the targets in case of conflict.