Russia says it is deploying nuclear munitions to storage facilities in Belarus as part of three days of drills between the two allies north of Ukraine.
The drills will also involve tests of nuclear-capable missiles as well as the processes for moving them in secret ahead of launch, Russia’s defence ministry said.
The exercises will be held in Russia and Belarus as Russian president Vladimir Putin returns from his two-day trip to China.
It comes as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warned of a possible fresh ground offensive from Russia against the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
Such an operation would likely be made possible by deeper involvement from Belarus, Zelensky said.
Earlier, the UK accused Russia of conducting dangerous fighter jet flybys within 6 metres of a Royal Air Force surveillance plan over the Black Sea, warning against the risk of potential escalation between Nato and Russia.
“Let me be very clear: This incident will not deter the UK’s commitment to defend Nato, our allies and our interests from Russian aggression,” defence secretary John Healey said.
Russia accuses Zelensky of wanting to escalate Ukraine conflict
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a regular briefing that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky was pursuing escalation of the conflict between the two countries.
Her accusation came as Ukrainian drone attacks forced the shutdown of oil facilities in central Russia.
The two sides have continued exchanging deadly barrages of missiles and drones in the recent weeks.
The Russian spokesperson did not acknowledge the onslaught on Ukraine in the past few weeks, including more than 3,000 drones in a week that have caused dozens of deaths.
In photos: Russia deploys strategic nuclear-capable weapons in Belarus for major drill
Russia and Ukraine exchange attacks overnight, leaving four dead
At least two people were killed in a drone attack on the town of Syzran in Russia’s Samara region on the Volga River, the local governor said, while Ukraine also reported two dead as the two sides exchanged attacks overnight.
A large oil refinery is located in Syzran, some 1,000km (620 miles) from the border with Ukraine.
The Samara governor, Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, made no mention of whether any infrastructure was damaged in his post on Telegram.
Elsewhere in Russia, three people were injured in a drone attack in and around the town of Shebekino in Russia’s Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, authorities said on Telegram.
In Ukraine, two were killed after Russia hit the Chernihiv region on the Russian border and the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, emergency services said on Telegram, with a number of people injured.
One injured as Russia attacks Ukraine’s Dnipro with drones and bombs
A 58-year-old woman was injured in Ukraine’s Dnipro after Russian forces attacked the city in the early hours of this morning, the regional governor says.
Oleksandr Hanzha said medics have provided assistance at the scene of strike and the injured woman will receive outpatient treatment.
The strike damaged an apartment and blew out the windows of several nearby buildings, Hanzha said.
Xi Jinping may visit North Korea as early as next week
Chinese president Xi Jinping may visit North Korea as early as next week, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported quoting a senior government official.
Another government source was cited as saying a team of Chinese security service and protocol officials were in Pyongyang recently and that a visit by Xi late in May or early June was likely.
Xi, who hosted Vladimir Putin this week and US president Donald Trump last week, will try to act as a mediator between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the senior official was quoted as saying.
South Korea’s foreign ministry did not immediately comment on the report.
China is a key economic and political ally of North Korea and the two have made efforts to reinforce ties that had cooled during the Covid-19 pandemic.
North Korean leader Kim visited Beijing last year and stood alongside Xi and Putin at a major military parade.
Russia kickstarts major nuclear wargames with Belarus today: What to expect
Russia has delivered nuclear munitions to field storage facilities in Belarus as part of major nuclear drills as the two allies start a three-day nuclear exercise.
The military drills will be taking place across Russia and Belarus.
“As part of the nuclear forces exercise, nuclear munitions were delivered to the field storage facilities of the missile brigade’s position area in the Republic of Belarus,” the ministry said.
Russia said the missile unit in Belarus was carrying out training to receive special munitions for the mobile Iskander-M tactical missile system, including loading munitions onto launch vehicles and secretly moving to a designated area for launch preparation.
Footage released by Russia’s defence ministry showed a truck driving through a forest amid lightning and unloading an item. It was not immediately clear what they were unloading.
The Iskander-M, a mobile guided missile system code-named “SS-26 Stone” by Nato, replaced the Soviet “Scud”. Its guided missiles have a range of up to 500km (300 miles) and can carry conventional or nuclear warheads.
Zelensky indicates movement on peace talks with US
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky says there has recently been productive contact with the US regarding talks to end the war.
“If, in the coming weeks, we manage to return to meaningful trilateral communication and involve the Europeans, this would be the right outcome,” Zelensky said in his overnight video message.
“For our part, we are ready for such steps. I count on our partners to be ready as well – and that the Russians will not hide,” he said.
EU members are discussing whether former European Central Bank president Mario Draghi, or former German chancellor Angela Merkel, could represent the bloc in talks for potential negotiations with the Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Russia delivers nuclear munitions to Belarus as part of drills
Russia delivered nuclear munitions to field storage facilities in Belarus as part of major nuclear drills, the Russian defence ministry said this morning.
“As part of the nuclear forces exercise, nuclear munitions were delivered to the field storage facilities of the missile brigade’s position area in the Republic of Belarus,” the ministry said.
Russia said the missile unit in Belarus was carrying out training to receive special munitions for the mobile Iskander-M tactical missile system, including loading munitions onto launch vehicles and secretly moving to a designated area for launch preparation.
From Putin’s guest of honour to hosting nuclear weapons: How Belarus has become a closer ally to Putin
The Russian defence ministry said this morning that more of its nuclear munitions have been delivered to field storage facilities in Belarus as part of nuclear drills.
This came just hours after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv has bolstered its defences and will send reinforcements to its northern regions in bid to step up diplomatic pressure on Belarus to counter what Kyiv believes are Russian plans to launch a new offensive north of the capital.
Minsk has remained one of Moscow’s staunchest supporters in the war, which was initially launched in part by Russian forces passing through Belarus. Russian drones have frequently crossed Belarus while attacking Ukraine, and Minsk said it deployed the Russian Oreshnik intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile system.
“As of now, we haven’t detected any movement of equipment or personnel directly at our border, but of course, we can see the pressure Russia is putting on Belarus,” Ukraine’s border guards spokesperson, Andriy Demchenko, told Ukrinform news agency.
On Monday, Belarus said it launched joint drills with Russia to practice the use of nuclear weapons that Moscow has deployed on the territory of its neighbour and ally.
The two countries have ramped up their cooperation in recent months, with the inclusion of Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko as Vladimir Putin’s guest of honour in his Victory Day parade earlier this month.
Two killed in drone attack on Syzran in Russia’s Samara
At least two people were killed in a drone attack on the town of Syzran in Russia’s Samara region on the Volga river, said Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, governor of the Samara region.
The independent Telegram channel Exilenova Plus reported that a refining unit at Rosneft’s Syzran oil refiner was struck in the drone attack.
Arpan Rai21 May 2026 06:24NewerOlder