Belarus launched joint drills with Russia this month to practice the use of Russian tactical nuclear weapons deployed on Belarusian territory. The exercises will involve missile units and warplanes and will focus on training forces to move covertly across large distances.

"During the exercise, in cooperation with the Russian side, it is planned to practice the delivery of nuclear weapons and preparations for their use." the Belarusian Defense Ministry said. The maneuvers had been planned in advance and were not aimed against any third countries, according to the ministry.

President Alexander Lukashenko has allowed Russia to deploy some of its tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Moscow will retain control of those weapons but will allow Belarus to select targets in case of conflict. In 2024, the Kremlin released a revised nuclear doctrine that placed Belarus under the Russian nuclear umbrella.

Lukashenko has ruled Belarus for more than three decades. His government has been sanctioned by Western governments for restricting human rights and for allowing Moscow to use Belarusian territory for the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

"Lukashenko has turned Belarus into a platform for Russian threats, but Belarusians don't need these weapons." Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said, adding that the deployment of Russian nuclear weapons has turned Belarus into a target. "Only a free Belarus will become a source of security, not nuclear blackmail, in Europe," she said.

Putin has claimed that the Oreshnik missile's multiple warheads plunge at speeds of up to Mach 10 and cannot be intercepted, and that several such missiles used in a conventional strike could be as devastating as a nuclear attack. Intermediate-range missiles can fly between 500 to 5,500 kilometers (310 to 3,400 miles). Such weapons were banned under a Soviet-era treaty that Washington and Moscow abandoned in 2019.