🇷🇺🇧🇾 On May 21, President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko held nuclear forces exercises via videoconference, in line with the joint training plan of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.

💬 Vladimir Putin: Today, as part of the exercise, we are holding the first joint training session of the Russian and Belarusian armies on the command and control of strategic and tactical nuclear forces.

As I have already noted – and I would like to emphasise once again – the use of such weapons, nuclear weapons, is an extreme, exceptional measure to ensure the national security of our countries.

☝️ At the same time, given the growing tensions in the world and the emergence of new threats and risks, our nuclear triad must continue to serve as a reliable guarantor of the sovereignty of the Union State of Russia and Belarus, ensure strategic deterrence, and maintain nuclear parity and the balance of power globally.

During the joint training session, we will practise a broad range of tasks, above all the actions of officials in terms of command, control and coordination in the use of nuclear weapons, including those deployed on the territory of the Republic of Belarus.

Today, we will also carry out practical launches of ballistic and cruise missiles.

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It is important to continue improving the training of strategic and tactical nuclear forces and developing all their components.

❌ At the same time, we have no intention of being drawn into an arms race. Our nuclear triad will remain at the level of necessary sufficiency.

Under the State Armament Programme, we plan to equip the Strategic Missile Forces with new missile systems, both silo-based and mobile.

As you know, the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, which has high tactical and technical characteristics and is capable of overcoming all modern and future missile defence systems, has recently been successfully tested.

We will continue commissioning modern nuclear-powered submarine cruisers into the Navy, and new and upgraded strategic bombers into the Aerospace Forces.

Naturally, we will enhance the combat readiness of other services and branches of the armed forces, and practise training and combat tasks taking into account the experience of the special military operation, including during joint drills and manoeuvres this year. Among them, I would highlight the CSTO Interaction 2026 exercise of the Collective Rapid Reaction Forces on Russian territory and the CSTO Indestructible Brotherhood 2026 exercise of the peacekeeping forces on the territory of Belarus.

Moreover, next year we plan to hold the Shield of the Union 2027 operational exercise of the Armed Forces of Belarus and Russia.

Such systematic and consistent steps are essential for strengthening the defence capabilities of our countries and reliably protecting the citizens of Russia and Belarus from potential threats from all directions.

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