Russia has delivered nuclear munitions to field depots in Belarus as part of joint nuclear exercises, the Russian Defense Ministry reported, Reuters reported, quoted by News.bg.
The three-day exercise, which began on May 19, is being held on the territory of Russia and Belarus. According to the Russian ministry, during the maneuvers, ammunition was placed in field warehouses in the area of a missile brigade in Belarus.
The ministry points out that units equipped with the mobile missile system “Iskander-M“ were preparing to receive and load special ammunition, as well as moving to certain positions for training launches.
“Iskander-M“ is a mobile tactical missile system with a range of up to about 500 kilometers, capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads.
During the war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly used the topic of the country's nuclear capabilities as a signal to the West to limit its support for Kiev.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin sharply criticized statements by Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kēstutis Budris after he commented that NATO should demonstrate the ability to penetrate the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad. Moscow described the words as “bordering on madness“.
The Kaliningrad region is a Russian exclave between Lithuania and Poland on the Baltic Sea, with a population of about 1 million people and a heavily militarized presence, including the headquarters of the Baltic Fleet.