Belarusian soldiers have begun to be trained in Russia in the use of “tactical” nuclear weapons, Moscow and Minsk said on Tuesday, the Kremlin having recently announced the sending of this type of weaponry to Belarus.
“An Iskander-M tactical operational missile system has been delivered to the Belarusian armed forces. It allows the use of ordinary but also nuclear missiles,” said Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
“Since April 3, Belarusian personnel have been trained in its use […] in a Russian training center,” he added, during a meeting.
“The personnel of these units will study in detail the issues relating to the content and use of tactical nuclear munitions,” the Belarusian Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
“Belarusian soldiers will follow a complete training cycle in a training center of the Russian armed forces”, indicated the ministry, without specifying how long this training should last.
On March 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow would deploy “tactical” nuclear weapons to Belarus, its ally in the conflict in Ukraine, sparking concern in Kyiv and the West.
According to Mr. Putin, ten planes have already been equipped in Belarus for the use of such tactical nuclear weapons and a special warehouse will be completed by July 1.
So-called “tactical” nuclear weapons can cause immense damage, but their radius of destruction is more limited than that of “strategic” nuclear weapons.
Last week, the Belarusian President, Alexander Lukashenko, however, said he was ready to welcome Russian “strategic” nuclear weapons on his territory, in addition to “tactical” weapons.
Russian officials have repeatedly issued thinly veiled threats to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine if the conflict escalates significantly.