Putin and Lukashenko oversee joint Russia-Belarus nuclear exercises with missile tests

What happened

Russia’s TASS news agency reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko jointly participated via video conference in strategic nuclear drills involving their countries’ nuclear forces, marking the first time the two heads of state have taken part directly in such exercises.

The drills, conducted from Tuesday to Thursday, featured launches of a variety of advanced ballistic and hypersonic missiles, including Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles, a Zircon hypersonic cruise missile, and Sineva submarine-launched ballistic missiles. Belarusian forces tested Iskander-M ballistic missiles, while Russian Tu-95MS bombers and MiG-31 aircraft launched long-range hypersonic missiles.

Putin framed the exercises as defensive, emphasizing nuclear weapons as an ‘extreme and exceptional measure’ to ensure national security of the Russia-Belarus Union State, while Lukashenko described the drills as defensive coordination, affirming they ‘absolutely threaten no one.’ The drill’s aim was to practice command and coordination concerning nuclear force deployment, including on Belarusian soil.

Known from the source

• Russian and Belarusian presidents participated via video conference in joint nuclear forces exercises for the first time.
• The exercises included launches of Yars ballistic missiles, Zircon hypersonic missile, Sineva submarine-launched ballistic missile, and Belarusian Iskander-M missiles.
• Russian Tu-95MS bombers and MiG-31 aircraft launched hypersonic air-launched cruise missiles and Kinzhal missiles during the drills.
• The exercises were held from May 19 to May 21, 2026.
• Ukraine increased security measures in northern regions bordering Belarus citing the exercise-related threat.

What remains unclear

The joint nuclear drill has triggered alarm in Kyiv and NATO. Ukraine’s Security Service announced enhanced security measures in northern regions bordering Belarus, citing the exercises and the alliance’s concern over potential Russian aggression launched from Belarus aiming at Ukraine or neighboring NATO states. This comes alongside ongoing Russian-Ukrainian hostilities highlighted by a recent Ukrainian drone attack that killed three workers in Russia’s Bryansk border region.

What remains unclear: Confirm exact missile types, quantities, and locations of launches described. Confirm direct statements from Putin and Lukashenko from official Kremlin or Belarusian government sources. Verify Ukrainian Security Service announcements and NATO reactions with official statements. Confirm casualty details and timing of the Ukrainian drone attack in Bryansk from independent sources.

Evidence note

Outside Brief has treated the source material as confirmed within the supplied source context, while retaining attribution to the original publisher.

Original source: Al Jazeera Iran. Open the source.