Russia has delivered nuclear munitions to field storage facilities in Belarus as part of large-scale nuclear military exercises, according to the Russian Defence Ministry, marking a further escalation in its strategic posturing amid tensions with the West.
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The drills, which began on Tuesday and will run for three days, are being conducted across both Russia and Belarus. They come as Moscow continues its military confrontation in Ukraine and describes its conflict with the West as an existential struggle.
🚨⚡️Russia’s Defense Ministry says nuclear munitions were delivered to storage sites of a missile brigade in Belarus as part of joint military drills. pic.twitter.com/sUTfAAXfME
— RussiaNews 🇷🇺 (@mog_russEN) May 21, 2026
The Defence Ministry said the exercise included transferring nuclear munitions to the position area of a missile brigade in Belarus. It added that personnel were training to load special warheads onto mobile Iskander-M tactical missile systems and carry out secret deployment to designated launch areas.
The Iskander-M system, known by NATO as “SS-26 Stone,” is a mobile short-range ballistic missile platform capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads, with a range of up to 500 kilometres.
Footage released by the ministry reportedly showed military vehicles moving through forested terrain during the exercise, though it did not clearly confirm the contents being transported.
The drills come at a time when Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly referenced Russia’s nuclear capabilities during the war in Ukraine, warning Western countries against increasing military support for Kyiv.
Belarus, a close ally of Moscow, has hosted Russian nuclear-capable systems as part of expanded military cooperation between the two countries since the start of the conflict.
Meanwhile, tensions between Russia and NATO continue to rise. The Kremlin recently criticised comments by Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys, who suggested NATO should demonstrate its ability to penetrate Russia’s Kaliningrad region. Russia described the remarks as “verging on insanity.”
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Kaliningrad, a heavily militarised Russian exclave located between NATO members Lithuania and Poland on the Baltic Sea, is home to Russia’s Baltic Fleet and holds significant strategic importance.
The latest drills underscore ongoing nuclear signalling by Moscow amid its prolonged confrontation with Western allies.