Belarusian warplanes have been modernized so they can carry NUKES, warns Russia’s defense minister

As Finland prepares to join NATO today, the Russian defense minister warned, Belarusian warplanes have been upgraded to be capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

Sergei Shoigu said that Russia is taking practical steps to enhance the nuclear strike potential of its close ally, Belarus.

He said that some Belarusian military aircraft are now capable of carrying nuclear warheads, and that Russia has sent Iskander missile systems — which can carry conventional or nuclear missiles — to Belarus.

“Some Belarusian ground attack aircraft have acquired the ability to strike hostile targets with nuclear weapons,” he told a conference at the military ministry.

Moscow and Minsk said today that Belarusian forces have begun training on a nuclear-capable Russian missile system following President Vladimir Putin’s decision to deploy tactical weapons on Belarusian soil, Moscow and Minsk said Tuesday.

Putin said on March 25 that he would send tactical nuclear weapons to ally Russia, a move that drew widespread criticism.

Tactical nuclear weapons are battlefield weapons that, although devastating, have a lower payoff compared to long-range strategic weapons.

“The operational-tactical Iskander-M missile system has been transferred to the Belarusian forces,” Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday.

“On April 3, the Belarusian crews began training in how to use them,” he said.

The Ministry of Defense of Belarus published pictures of men in military uniform with the emblem of Belarus, and their faces hidden, as they boarded military planes to Russia.

“The staff of these units will study in detail issues related to the maintenance and use of tactical nuclear weapons of the Iskander-M missile system,” the Belarusian Ministry of Defense said on Telegram.

“They will undergo a full training course in one of the training grounds of the Russian Armed Forces,” she added, without specifying how long the training would take.

Putin’s announcement raised fears of a nuclear conflict, but experts and governments said the move was unlikely to change the course of the conflict.

Russia is building a special storage facility for these weapons, which it plans to finish on July 1.

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko announced Friday that he is ready to host “Russia’s strategic nuclear weapons” if necessary.

The Kremlin also said on Tuesday that Russia would have to take ‘countermeasures’ to Finland joining the NATO military alliance, with Shoigu saying the move raises the possibility of an escalation of conflict in Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said NATO expansion – long criticized in Moscow – was ‘an encroachment on our security and on Russia’s national interests’ and that Moscow would closely monitor any NATO military deployment to Finland.

Russia and Finland share a 1,300km border, and Moscow has already said it will reinforce military divisions stationed in the west and northwest.

Finland was due to formally join the military alliance later on Tuesday.

Shoigu told the Russian military leadership at a meeting that Finland’s accession “creates risks of significant expansion of the conflict” in Ukraine, according to a transcript released by the Defense Ministry.

But he said this would not affect the outcome of what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Russia says one of the reasons it sent its armed forces to Ukraine in February 2022 was to counter a threat from what it said were Western plans to use Ukraine as a platform to threaten Russia.

It says it is now engaged in a “hybrid war” against NATO and the West, which backs Ukraine with billions of dollars in arms packages and financial support.

Shoigu said Russia is also taking practical steps to bolster the possibility of nuclear strikes on its close ally Belarus in response.

He said that some Belarusian military aircraft are now capable of carrying nuclear warheads, and that Russia has sent Iskander missile systems — which can carry conventional or nuclear missiles — to Belarus.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month that Russia would deploy tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus.

Russia used Belarus as a launching pad for its invasion last year, and fears remained high in Kiev and the West that it could be drawn into the conflict by Moscow.

Moscow and Minsk said on Tuesday that it came as Belarusian forces began training on a Russian nuclear-capable missile system following President Vladimir Putin’s decision to deploy tactical weapons on Belarusian soil.

Putin said on March 25 that he would send tactical nuclear weapons to ally Russia, a move that drew widespread criticism.

Tactical nuclear weapons are battlefield weapons that, although devastating, have a lower payoff compared to long-range strategic weapons.

“The operational-tactical Iskander-M missile system has been transferred to the Belarusian forces,” Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday.

“On April 3, the Belarusian crews began training in how to use them,” he said.

The Ministry of Defense of Belarus published pictures of men in military uniform with the emblem of Belarus, and their faces hidden, as they boarded military planes to Russia.

“The staff of these units will study in detail issues related to the maintenance and use of tactical nuclear weapons of the Iskander-M missile system,” the Belarusian Ministry of Defense said on Telegram.

“They will undergo a full training course in one of the training grounds of the Russian armed forces,” she added, without mentioning the duration of the training.

Putin’s announcement raised fears of a nuclear conflict, but experts and governments said the move was unlikely to change the course of the conflict.

Russia is building a special storage facility for these weapons, which it plans to finish on July 1.

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko announced Friday that he is ready to host “Russia’s strategic nuclear weapons” if necessary.