Russia, Belarus Embark on Second Stage of Non-Strategic Nuclear Drills: Defense Ministry

"In accordance with the decision of Russian President (Vladimir Putin), the second stage of the exercise of non-strategic nuclear forces began," the ministry said in a statement, Sputnik reported.

During the exercise, the joint training of units from the armed forces of Russia and Belarus will be carried out.

The second stage of the non-strategic nuclear forces drills is aimed at maintaining readiness to use nuclear weapons to ensure the sovereignty of the Union State of Russia and Belarus, the Russian Ministry of Defense added.

“The exercises are aimed at maintaining the readiness of personnel and equipment for the combat use of non-strategic nuclear weapons of Russia and Belarus in order to unconditionally ensure the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Union State,” the statement says.

As part of the first stage, the Ministry elaborated on the process of acquiring specialized ammunition for the Iskander tactical missile system. Additionally, the aviation forces engaged in training exercises involving the equipping of special warheads for the Kinzhal hypersonic missiles.

The Ministry added that missile units from the Southern Military District performed training exercises to equip Iskanders with special warheads.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry explained that drills must be considered in the light of hawkish statements made by Western politicians and NATO’s destabilizing activities.