Russia to provide nuclear-capable missiles and fighter jets to Belarus

WARSAW, Poland — Russia will provide nuclear-capable Iskander-M missiles to Belarus and upgrade the country’s fighter jets to allow them to carry tactical atomic weapons, President Vladimir Putin said over the weekend.

A “decision was made in our country: Within the next several months, we will transfer to Belarus the Iskander-M tactical missile systems, which are known to use both ballistic and cruise missiles, both conventional and nuclear,” Putin said on June 25 following a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko.

During the same meeting, Lukashenko asked the Russian dictator to upgrade his country’s Sukhoi Su-25 fighter jets to allow them to carry nuclear weapons. The Belarusian leader claimed this would enable the country’s air force to mirror NATO drills.

“We are very concerned about training flights by the U.S. and NATO airplanes, which practice carrying nuclear warheads and nuclear weapons,” Lukashenko said. “Therefore, I ask you to consider an equivalent response to these actions, without overdoing it.”

Putin replied that Belarusian fighter jets could be fitted with additional gear at Russian aviation plants, and Russia’s military could provide training to their pilots.

The Belarusian military “has a fairly big number of Su-25 planes. They can be respectively re-equipped,” he said.

The financial details of the potential upgrade were not disclosed. Industry publications estimate Belarus operates 67 Su-25s, which makes the fighter jet the most prevalent combat aircraft in the country’s fleet.

The latest development comes as the two countries are tightening their military cooperation in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Belarus supports Russia’s war, and its authoritarian leader has long requested Putin to provide his country’s armed forces with Iskander missile systems, claiming Belarus could be invaded by NATO’s member states.

Alliance members have no such intentions.

Last February, Minsk held a referendum which enabled the country’s authorities to modify the constitution’s article describing Belarus as a “nuclear-free zone” and a “neutral” state, potentially enabling Russia to deploy additional nuclear weapons along NATO’s eastern flank.

On Saturday, Russia launched dozens of missiles on several areas across the country far from the heart of the eastern battles. Some of the missiles were fired from Russian long-range Tu-22 bombers deployed from Belarus for the first time, Ukraine’s air command said.

Belarus hosts Russian military units and was used as a staging ground before Russia invaded Ukraine, but its own troops have not crossed the border.

Oleksandr Stashevskyi with The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

波兰华沙——俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京周末表示，俄罗斯将向白俄罗斯提供可携带核弹头的“伊斯坎德尔-M”导弹，并升级该国的战斗机，使其能够携带战术原子武器。

普京在6月25日与白俄罗斯总统卢卡申科会晤后表示：“我国已做出决定：在接下来的几个月内，我们将向白俄罗斯移交伊斯坎德尔-M战术导弹系统，该系统可使用弹道导弹和巡航导弹，既可发射常规导弹也可发射核导弹。”

在同一次会晤中，卢卡申科要求俄罗斯领导人升级该国的苏-25战斗机，使其能够携带核武器。这位白俄罗斯领导人声称，这将使该国空军能够效仿北约的演习。

卢卡申科说：“我们非常关注美国和北约飞机进行的携带核弹头和核武器的训练飞行。因此，我请求你们考虑对这些行动采取对等回应，但不要反应过度。”

普京回应说，白俄罗斯的战斗机可以在俄罗斯航空工厂加装额外的设备，俄罗斯军方也可以为他们的飞行员提供培训。

他说：“白俄罗斯军队拥有相当数量的苏-25战机，可以对其进行相应的改装。”

此次潜在升级的财务细节尚未披露。据业内媒体估计，白俄罗斯目前拥有67架苏-25战斗机，使其成为该国机队中最常见的作战飞机。

在俄罗斯入侵乌克兰之后，两国加强了军事合作，而最新进展正值此时。白俄罗斯支持俄罗斯的战争，其威权领导人长期以来一直要求普京向白俄罗斯武装部队提供“伊斯坎德尔”导弹系统，声称白俄罗斯可能遭到北约成员国的入侵。

联盟成员并无此意。

去年二月，明斯克举行了一次全民公投，使该国当局能够修改宪法中将白俄罗斯描述为“无核区”和“中立”国家的条款，这可能使俄罗斯能够在北约东翼部署更多核武器。

周六，俄罗斯向乌克兰境内多个远离东部战区核心地带的地区发射了数十枚导弹。乌克兰空军司令部称，部分导弹是由首次从白俄罗斯部署的俄罗斯远程图-22轰炸机发射的。

白俄罗斯境内驻扎着俄罗斯军事单位，在俄罗斯入侵乌克兰之前曾被用作集结地，但白俄罗斯自己的军队尚未越过边境。

美联社的 Oleksandr Stashevskyi 对本报道亦有贡献。

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。