Belarus Troops Train on Nuclear-Capable Missiles Before Fresh Ukraine Push

Belarusian troops have been training to use nuclear-capable Iskander ballistic missiles as Moscow reportedly seeks to distract Ukrainian troops at the country's northern border.

Russia's Defense Ministry announced on its official Telegram channel on Wednesday that Belarusian crews have been training with Russia's Southern Military District since early April, being instructed in the use of Iskander-M short-range ballistic missiles, which are capable of delivering low-yield nuclear weapons.

"During the training, special attention was paid to the further improvement of practical skills in preparing the missile system for use, training in its deployment, as well as conducting combat training launches," the Telegram post read.

"The personnel of the crews studied in detail the issues of the content and use of tactical special ammunition," the ministry said. Those involved, it added, "showed maximum effort and showed excellent results, thereby confirming a high level of readiness to perform tasks as intended."

Newsweek has contacted the Belarusian Foreign Ministry by email to request comment.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in March that tactical nuclear weapons—smaller yield than strategic alternatives and designed for relatively short-range battlefield use—would be deployed to Belarus. The announcement was interpreted as the Kremlin's latest attempt to weaken Western support for Ukraine by using nuclear threats.

Putin did not say when the weapons would be relocated to Belarus. He did say that a storage facility for warheads would be completed by July. Russian forces, the president said, would also train their Belarusian counterparts on the use of ballistic missiles and modified Su-24 aircraft that can be used to carry the warheads to target.

The announcement was met with international condemnation, even from China, which to date has been sympathetic to Moscow's war on Ukraine.

The Belarusian opposition condemned the country's president, Alexander Lukashenko, and Putin for putting the country in the line of fire in any direct future conflict between Russia and NATO. One senior opposition figure also told Newsweek that any nuclear deployment on Belarusian territory would prompt an uptick in anti-Lukashenko partisan activity.

Franak Viačorka, the chief political adviser to Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, told Newsweek any future deployment of Russian nuclear weapons might make life more difficult for Lukashenko.

"I doubt so many Belarusians—who survived Chernobyl, who suffered from radiation, who saw everything that was happening around the nuclear power plant which had so many problems—I think people will never accept it. Even the supporters of the regime don't accept it," Viačorka said.

Viačorka said Belarusian troops had been training in "how to use and how to take care of nuclear weapons" in Russia. However, he said Putin's plan to construct a nuclear storage facility in Belarus by July was "unrealistic."

"I think it will be delayed by months—three, six, maybe more. Maybe even until next year."

Viačorka said the Belarusian opposition is calling on the international community to do more to dissuade the Kremlin. "If the international committee will be more proactive, will be speaking out about it, it will help to prevent the deployment of nuclear weapons," he said.

"We shouldn't just wait and watch whether Putin will do it or not. We should make sure that he knows the consequences he will face if this happens."

Moscow has been unable to bounce ally Belarus into its war with Ukraine, though Lukashenko has allowed extensive Russian military use of his territory to launch incursions into, and strikes on, Ukraine.

Russian troops remain deployed in Belarus, though there appears little sign of a renewed offensive across its shared border with Ukraine. Kyiv's troops have spent months fortifying the frontier since seizing it back from Russian control in April 2022, when Moscow's units were forced into a messy retreat from areas north of Kyiv.

Ukrainian and foreign officials have suggested that continued Russian presence in Belarus is more likely intended to distract Kyiv as it plans its spring counteroffensive, which is expected to focus on the eastern or southern fronts.

Ukraine and its foreign partners are hoping that the next push will liberate significant territory, as did previous counteroffensive operations around Kyiv in spring 2022, and Kharkiv and Kherson in the fall.

Robert E. Hamilton, a retired U.S. Army colonel now working at the Foreign Policy Research Institute think tank, told Newsweek that the outcome of the looming counteroffensive "will reveal much about the viability of decisive offensive maneuver in this war, and this will in turn give insights into the way the war is likely to end."

"To this point in the war, the combination of persistent surveillance/reconnaissance and long-range precision fires have made large-scale, decisive maneuver difficult for both sides," he said. "If Ukraine is able overcome these challenges and mount a successful offensive, it significantly raises the chances of a favorable settlement to the war. If not, the war is likely to devolve into a grinding war of attrition."

Update 4/27/23, 6:00 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to include comment from Franak Viačorka, chief political adviser to the Belarusian opposition leader.