President Putin discusses second phase of nuclear exercises with Belarus

According to RT, after being welcomed by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on May 23 at Minsk National Airport, President Putin said: “We will talk about the second stage of the exercises. This involves Belarus’ direct participation in these events.”

On May 21, the Russian military began the first stage of tactical nuclear exercises in the Southern Military District, which includes Crimea and four former Ukrainian territories in the Donbass region. According to Russia, the exercises are aimed at demonstrating the ability to respond to external threats, thereby preventing Western countries from escalating the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The exercise included transferring nuclear weapons to troops from storage sites, arming missiles with tactical nuclear warheads and secretly deploying those weapons.

After the Kremlin announced the drills earlier this month amid unprecedented tensions with the United States and its allies over Ukraine, President Lukashenko immediately ordered similar drills to test Belarus’ nuclear-capable weapons systems, including Iskander missile launchers.

In 2023, President Putin agreed to leave a small number of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus after Mr Lukashenko requested it. At the time, Mr Lukashenko also stated that he would not hesitate to use tactical nuclear weapons if Belarus was attacked.

President Putin said he had prepared for his visit to Belarus in advance and had discussed bilateral cooperation with members of the Russian cabinet. The meeting covered topics such as security, energy and agriculture. The talks between President Lukashenko and President Putin will cover the entire range of relations between the two countries, including trade, humanitarian issues and joint projects.

Several other Russian leaders are expected to arrive in the Belarusian capital Minsk on May 24 for talks.

President Lukashenko has invited Mr Putin to visit Belarus. This is the Russian leader's second foreign trip since being sworn in for a fifth term as president on May 7. President Putin traveled to China last week for talks with President Xi Jinping and is scheduled to make a state visit to Uzbekistan on May 26-27.

Russia's tactical nuclear drills come as French President Emmanuel Macron and Western leaders have recently talked about the possibility of deploying NATO forces in Ukraine and having the Ukrainian military use their weapons to strike targets deep inside Russian territory.

Such exercises have been rare since the collapse of the Soviet Union, but they were held annually during the Soviet era, according to Russia's Vedomosti newspaper. Russia's nuclear doctrine allows for the first use of nuclear weapons only in cases where the country's survival is in danger or when there is an attempt to wipe out Russia's nuclear forces.

According to Ilya Kramnik, a researcher at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the above-mentioned exercise does not change Russia's national nuclear doctrine.

Meanwhile, researcher Dmitry Stefanovich also pointed out that what is being seen now is a clear nuclear message, which has never happened before in Russia's special military operation in Ukraine. This analyst noted that it confirms the fact that in the event of a high-intensity conflict with a superior opponent, Russia will use non-strategic nuclear weapons.