Belarusian soldiers receive training in Russia to learn how to use nuclear weapons | War Ukraine and Russia

Units of the Belarusian Missile Forces have been deployed to Russia “for practical preparation,” the Belarusian defense ministry said.

“The operational tactical missile system ‘Iskander-M’ has been delivered to the Belarusian forces. That system allows the use of normal missiles, but also of nuclear ones,” Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu added. “Since April 3, Belarusian personnel have been trained on how to use it,” it added. That happens in a Russian training center. It is unknown how long the training will last.

Tactical nuclear weapons can cause great damage, although the radius of destruction is smaller than that of strategic nuclear weapons. Last week, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said he is ready to receive strategic nuclear weapons as well.

Lukashenko is one of Putin’s last European allies. Belarus is highly dependent on Russia politically, militarily and economically. Although the Russian neighbor is not yet directly involved in the war in Ukraine, Russian troops have already launched attacks from Belarus on the Ukrainian capital Kiev. Moscow and Minsk also held joint military exercises.