Major nuclear war fears as Putin’s forces move hundreds of nuke weapons across border

Ukraine warned that Russia and Belarus had crossed a ‘red line’ and called for ‘a firm, consolidated response’ from Europe and America following the nuclear exercise

Ukraine have accused Vladimir Putin of committing “nuclear blackmail” after Russia combined with allies Belarus to perform a terrifying display of their military might.

The furious response followed an announcement yesterday (May 18) by Belarus that their military had successfully trialled “the delivery of nuclear munitions and their preparation for use . . . “in coordination with Russia“, as well as the “concealment” of weapons and their “movement over significant distances”.

The Ministry of Defence explained via the social media site Telegram that “exercises for military units on the combat deployment of nuclear weapons and nuclear support have begun. The aim of the exercises is to improve the level of personnel training, verify the readiness of weapons, military and special equipment for task execution, and organise combat deployment from unplanned areas.”

These latest displays of nuclear strength appear to show a further escalation in military aggression, and were immediately slammed by Ukraine.

A statement from the country’s foreign ministry read: “The militarisation of Belarus not only undermines trust in international law but also firmly cements Minsk as an accomplice in Russian nuclear blackmail.

The audacity of Moscow and Minsk, which have deliberately crossed all . . . ‘red lines’, cannot be left without a firm, consolidated response and systemic deterrence of both . . . the Euro-Atlantic community and the wider world.”

The statement went on to call for an “increase in sanctions” on both Russia and Belarus in order to help Ukraine in their on-going war.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “an effective response to the Russian-Belarusian sabre-rattling near NATO borders must include a sharp increase in sanctions pressure on Moscow and Minsk.”

They also called for ” the reinforcement of the Allied presence on NATO’s eastern flank, and deeper security cooperation with Ukraine.”

Despite the suggestion from Ukraine that the military exercises were meant to be provocative, Belarus remain adamant that this was not the case, stating that the tests were “not directed against third countries and pose no threat to security in the region”.

Russia has a long history of using Belarus as a location to store nuclear warheads, both before and after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

During the Cold War, Soviet Belarus hosted nuclear missile bases as part of the USSR’s military system. After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Belarus inherited these nuclear weapons but agreed to give them up under international arms-control deals.

By 1996, all warheads had been removed and returned to Russia, making Belarus the first former Soviet republic to voluntarily abandon its nuclear arsenal in exchange for security guarantees from major powers.

However, Russia have begun stationing nuclear weapons within the borders of Belarus again since 2023.

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