MOSCOW. May 3 (Interfax) - Additional measures to ensure the security of the Union State of Russia and Belarus have been taken in response to an escalation on the part of the North Atlantic Alliance, Russia's Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said at a briefing for military attaches from friendly countries on May 3.
"At the briefing, we explained the reasons for this decision on [taking] additional steps to ensure the security of the Union State of Russia and Belarus. The measures that have been taken are a response to the activities of the North Atlantic Alliance with regard to escalation," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
"An assessment was made of the actions of the U.S. regarding the deployment of nuclear weapons in Europe, and of its joint activities with NATO in terms of preparing and conducting nuclear missions with the participation of air forces from non-nuclear nations. Col. Gen. Alexander Fomin emphasized that Russian demands that such practices be stopped, and that U.S. nuclear weapons be withdrawn by the United States and its NATO allies to national territory, were rejected," it said.
On December 19, 2022, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that Moscow had shipped an S-400 Triumf long-range air defense system and an Iskander tactical missile system to Belarus.
According to official information, the Iskander-M tactical missile system was developed by the Kolomna-based Machine-Building Design Bureau of Rostec's High-Precision Systems Holding. As reported previously, Iskander-M missiles can carry a nuclear warhead. The system's variant for the Russian army includes two types of missiles: ballistic and cruise versions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in March that he had agreed with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. Putin told journalist Pavel Zarubin in an interview for the Moscow. Kremlin. Putin program of the Rossiya 24 television channel that Russia had provided Belarus with an Iskander system capable of firing tactical nuclear weapons.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on April 26 of this year that Belarusian service members had rigorously studied how to use the special tactical ammunition of the Iskander-M system during their training in Russia.
According to information from open sources, munitions with a nuclear warhead for the Iskander-M system are referred to as special-tactical munitions.
The Russian Defense Ministry said earlier in a statement on April 14 that it had completed the training for Belarusian service members on operating Sukhoi Su-25 attack aircraft. During those training sessions, Belarusian service members were taught new methods for using modern aircraft weapons, including with regard to the special ammunition, according to the Russian Defense Ministry's statement.