The armed forces of Belarus and Russia have begun an exercise in Belarus simulating the possible use of nuclear weapons, the Defence Ministry in Minsk said on Monday.
The manoeuvres are being held to practice the transport of nuclear weapons and prepare for their deployment, the ministry said, stressing that these were routine exercises by the missile forces and the air force, and not directed against anyone.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly accused Russia of planning to launch a new attack on Ukraine or a NATO country from neighbouring Belarus, considered Moscow’s closest ally.
According to the Defence Ministry in Minsk, the aim of the exercise is to test the operational readiness of weapons and equipment and to improve personnel training, including practising the transport of nuclear munitions.
Russia maintains tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus after long-time ruler Alexander Lukashenko requested them. He hopes they will provide greater security amid a perceived threat to the country from NATO states.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday rejected Zelensky’s latest allegations regarding a planned Russian offensive from Belarus.
“Such statements are nothing more than an attempt to further inflame tensions in order to prolong the war” in Ukraine, Peskov said.
Zelensky warned Belarus on Friday against allowing itself to be drawn into Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
He claimed, citing intelligence reports, that Moscow was considering deploying Russian forces again to invade northern Ukraine from Belarusian territory and have them march towards Chernihiv and Kiev, or even to attack one of the NATO countries bordering Belarus.
Russian forces entered Ukraine from Belarus at the start of the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, and advanced to the outskirts of Kiev, where they were later repelled by the Ukrainian military.