The first stage of the drills will begin with the "combat use" of Iskander and Kinzhal ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads, equipping their launch, and "covertly advancing to the designated position in preparation for missile launches."
The officials said that Russia had launched a satellite into space in February 2022 to test components for a potential anti-satellite weapon that would carry a nuclear device. However, the satellite that was launched doesn’t carry a nuclear weapon, the Wall Street Journal reported.
"A unit of Iskander operational-tactical system and a squadron of Su-25 aircraft are being prepared to carry out their intended tasks," Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said.
"This is an example of the kind of irresponsible rhetoric that we've seen from Russia in the past. It's completely inappropriate given the current security situation," Pentagon spokesperson Major General Pat Ryder told reporters.
The purpose of the exercises is to "maintain the readiness of personnel and equipment" to "unconditionally ensure the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Russian state," the Russian Defense Ministry said.
"It should have been first consulted with the government, not to just come out and say: we want nuclear arms on our territory," Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Szejna said.
Identified only as Thomas H., the 54-year-old went on trial in Dusseldorf on April 29 charged with conducting espionage on behalf of Moscow and leaking state secrets.
Speaking on April 24, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., described Russia's veto as "baffling."
Speaking to Fakt, Polish President Andrzej Duda highlighted how Russia has already taken similar steps with its own allies, having transferred tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus last year.
Ukraine is among the countries whose residents have the lowest level of fear of a nuclear threat, according to a survey by the Sociological Group Rating conducted in 2023 together with Gallup International and published on April 17.
The Institute for Strategic Studies of the Military School (IRSEM) and the General Directorate for International Relations and Strategy (DGRIS) surveyed 2,300 young people aged between 18 and 25 last summer.
Key developments on March 9-10: * CNN: US prepared 'rigorously' for potential Russian nuclear strike in Ukraine in 2022 * UK, Italy oppose deploying Western troops to Ukraine * UK Defense Ministry: Ukraine increasing fortifications along the front line * Zelensky denounces Pope Francis' proposal to negotiate peace with Russia * Air Force: Ukraine downs
Washington was "preparing rigorously" for a possible Russian nuclear strike in Ukraine in late 2022, which would have been the first nuclear attack in a war since the Hiroshima and Nagasaki 1945 bombings, CNN reported on March 9, citing two unnamed U.S. officials.
There will be "tragic consequences" if NATO troops are sent to Ukraine, and the West's support for Kyiv "risks a conflict using nuclear weapons," Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed during a two-hour State of the Nation address on Feb. 29.
Leaked Russian military documents outline Russia's doctrine for tactical nuclear weapons use, including the minimum criteria for using tactical nuclear weapons, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Feb. 28.
The U.S. has told allies that Moscow could deploy a nuclear anti-satellite weapon or a mock warhead into space as early as this year, Bloomberg reported on Feb. 20, citing unnamed people familiar with the issue.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Feb. 15 that it is "not an active capability," echoing comments from American intelligence sources that the development does create an "urgent" threat to the U.S.
According to ABC News, Russia may want to use a nuclear weapon against satellites rather than drop it on the Earth. One of the media's sources called such reports "a big deal," which is "very concerning and very sensitive."
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