{"id":84563,"date":"2024-05-10T10:02:06","date_gmt":"2024-05-10T07:02:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/84563\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T13:35:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T13:35:32","slug":"putin-orders-nuclear-drills-lukasenka-singing-to-his-tune","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/84563\/","title":{"rendered":"Putin orders nuclear drills, \u0141uka\u0161enka singing to his tune"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka, speaking at a Victory Day rally in Minsk on May 7, defended his decision to hold a nuclear drill. No matter how hard he tried to present it as his own initiative, it was clear that the Kremlin was calling the shots.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n (pexels.com \/ Ilya Perelude)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

“I would like to emphasize that the exercise is exclusively defensive in nature. It is aimed at ensuring the readiness of Belarusian military units to work with special ammunition, as well as at fine-tuning the mechanisms of troop command and interaction of allied command bodies,” the Belarusian ruler said.

“Allied command bodies” is a euphemism. In reality, Moscow is in charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NATO unlikely to attack with 10,000 troops<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Amid the ever-increasing military activity in Europe, Belarus is taking measures to adequately respond to the aggravation, \u0141uka\u0161enka said. “This activity to defend our country is of a planned nature and includes several stages.”

In late March, he inspected a checkpoint in A\u0161miany district near the border with Lithuania, dressed as commander-in-chief. That was the first stage of measures “in response to the concentration of troops near Belarus\u2019 northwestern border.”

In an apparent reference to NATO\u2019s Steadfast Defender, he said that 90,000 foreign troops were concentrated near Belarus\u2019 borders. “Who among you can stand up and say that of these 90,000, 10,000 will not attack our border tomorrow? No one,” \u0141uka\u0161enka said at the grand rally.

Obviously, no one in the audience had the courage to stand up and say that no madman would dare to attack Belarus and Russia with 10,000 troops.

\u0141uka\u0161enka also said that mechanized and anti-aircraft missile brigades had been put on high alert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also noted that he had inspected the Air\/Air Defense Central Command Post on May 3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During that inspection, he repeated several times that troops deserved credit only if the generals had organized the surprise drills \u201chonestly\u201d rather than put on a show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moscow tries to scare West, Minsk playing along<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

No matter how hard \u0141uka\u0161enka tries to pretend to be an independent actor, he is only playing a second fiddle in the Kremlin’s nuclear blackmail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Belarusian strongman\u2019s announcement of the nuclear tactical drill came hot on the heels of Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s decision to hold a tactical nuclear weapon exercise to improve \u201cthe non-strategic nuclear forces\u2019 readiness for combat missions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said recent statements by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Foreign Secretary David Cameron constituted a \u201ccompletely new round of escalation of tension.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week, Macron refused to rule out potentially deploying French troops, should Kyiv request them, while Cameron said that Ukraine had the right to use British weapons for strikes within Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, said on May 6 that if Western troops were sent to Ukraine, Western leaders “would not be able to hide on Capitol Hill, in the \u00c9lys\u00e9e Palace, or at 10 Downing Street. A global catastrophe will follow.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US-based think tank, played down the drills and threats coming out of Minsk and Moscow as the Kremlin\u2019s effort to coerce the West into self-deterring from providing additional military assistance to Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarus on a powder keg<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Belarusian ruler is trying to convince the public that by allowing Moscow to store its tactical nuclear weapons (TNWs) in Belarus he has significantly strengthened his country’s security.

On May 7, \u0141uka\u0161enka said that nuclear warheads would be loaded onto missile systems and Su-25 attack aircraft as part of the drill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe missile battalions of Iskander and Polonez operational-tactical systems will be secretly deployed to designated positions and will practice launching missile strikes to repel a probable attack on Belarus,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the same time, military aviation units will prepare frontline Su-25 attack aircraft for operations with special munitions to support our defending troops and inflict unacceptable damage on the enemy,\u201d he went on to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMilitary units of the Moscow and Leningrad Military Districts, as well as the Baltic Fleet forces and means stationed in the Kaliningrad region will help us obtain operational information,\u201d \u0141uka\u0161enka said.
From his words, one might think that he is in the driver\u2019s seat, while the Russian army takes a back seat. In fact, it is the other way around \u2013 Putin is using him for nuclear blackmail.

That was the reason the Kremlin deployed its TNWs to Belarus last year. It capitalized on the Belarusian leader\u2019s weakness, such as his desire to be perceived as the ruler of a nuclear power.

To perform his role as Russia\u2019s military satellite, \u0141uka\u0161enka amended the Constitution in February 2022 to remove provisions on neutrality and non-nuclear status of Belarus.

And now he is trying to convince fellow citizens that by putting his country on a powder keg he is strengthening its security.

On May 7, he said it was necessary to “stop mad politicians\u201d from turning all living things on the planet into ashes. These could be his words of wisdom, indeed, if only they were addressed to Putin and Medvedev who are threatening the world with a nuclear apocalypse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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