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Russia delivered nuclear munitions to field storage facilities in Belarus as part of major nuclear drills, the defence ministries in Moscow and Minsk announced on Thursday.
They have also released what they described as “video evidence” — a clip showing military vehicles driving into a forested area at an undisclosed location and missiles being loaded onto launchers.
The Iskander-M, a mobile guided-missile system code-named “SS-26 Stone” by NATO, is intended to replace the Soviet-era Scud. Iskander-M’s guided missiles have a range of up to 500 kilometres and can carry conventional or nuclear warheads.
Belarus defence ministry said the video shows **“**the delivery of nuclear munitions to field storage points in the operational area of a missile unit in the Republic of Belarus as part of military exercises.”
The three-day nuclear drills which started on Tuesday are taking place across Russia and Belarus at a time when the Baltic states continue to be rattled by repeated drone incidents.
Russia’s defence ministry announced on May 19 that the exercises, running until Thursday, involve 64,000 military personnel and 7,800 pieces of equipment, including more than 200 missile launchers, over 140 unmanned aerial vehicles, 73 surface ships, and 13 submarines, eight of them strategic submarines capable of carrying missiles.
Ukraine’s security service SBU said on Thursday that in response to the drills, Kyiv is stepping up security measures in northern regions to prevent Russian and Belarusian forces from infiltrating border areas and carrying out “sabotage and terrorist acts”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his evening address on Wednesday that he had discussed a possible Russian offensive in Ukraine’s northern regions, including Kyiv and Chernihiv, during a meeting with top military commanders.