Russia, Belarus Launch Second Stage of Drills to Train Troops in Tactical Nuclear Weapons 

In this photo taken from video on Monday, June 10, 2024, and released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, Russian troops prepare a missile launcher for joint Russian-Belarusian drills intended to train the military to use tactical nuclear weapons. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
In this photo taken from video on Monday, June 10, 2024, and released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, Russian troops prepare a missile launcher for joint Russian-Belarusian drills intended to train the military to use tactical nuclear weapons. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
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Russia, Belarus Launch Second Stage of Drills to Train Troops in Tactical Nuclear Weapons 

In this photo taken from video on Monday, June 10, 2024, and released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, Russian troops prepare a missile launcher for joint Russian-Belarusian drills intended to train the military to use tactical nuclear weapons. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
In this photo taken from video on Monday, June 10, 2024, and released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, Russian troops prepare a missile launcher for joint Russian-Belarusian drills intended to train the military to use tactical nuclear weapons. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

Russia and its ally Belarus on Tuesday launched a second stage of drills intended to train their troops in tactical nuclear weapons, part of the Kremlin's efforts to discourage the West from ramping up support for Ukraine.

In announcing the nuclear maneuvers last month, the Russian Defense Ministry said they were in response to “provocative statements and threats of certain Western officials regarding the Russian Federation.”

The Kremlin has expressed outrage after French President Emmanuel Macron said he doesn't exclude deploying troops to Ukraine, and the US and some other NATO allies allowed Kyiv to use the weapons supplied by them for striking targets on the Russian territory.

During the second stage of the drills that began Tuesday, Russian and Belarusian troops will undergo joint training in non-strategic nuclear weapons used in combat, the Defense Ministry said. It noted that the exercise is aimed at maintaining readiness of personnel and equipment to ensure “sovereignty and territorial integrity” of the alliance of Russia and Belarus.

The first stage of the exercise last month envisaged a preparation for nuclear missions and deployment for launches, according to the Defense Ministry. The Russian military had trained separately during the initial stage of the maneuvers before joint drills with Belarusian forces.

Last year, Russia moved some of its tactical nuclear weapons into neighboring Belarus, which also borders Ukraine and NATO members Poland, Latvia and Lithuania. Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has relied on close ties with Russia and provided his country as a staging ground for the war in Ukraine.

Tactical nuclear weapons include air bombs, warheads for short-range missiles and artillery munitions and are meant for use on a battlefield. Usually they are less powerful than the strategic weapons — massive warheads that arm intercontinental ballistic missiles and are intended to obliterate entire cities.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has noted, however, that even Russia’s battlefield nuclear weapons are much more powerful than the two atomic bombs the US dropped on Japan at the end of World War II.

Last week, Putin declared that the West is wrong to proceed from the assumption that Russia will never use its atomic arsenal.

Putin pointed at the country's nuclear doctrine that envisages the use of nuclear weapons in case of a threat to its sovereignty and territorial integrity. At the same time, he said he sees no current threat to Russia’s sovereignty that would warrant the use of nuclear weapons and emphasized that Moscow doesn't need them to defeat Ukraine.

The Russian leader has repeatedly reminded the West about the country's nuclear might since he sent troops into Ukraine in 2022.



Team of US Troops Supporting a Missile Defense System Arrives in Israel

 This image provided by the US Air Force shows the US Army Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) launching station preparing to load onto a 4th Airlift Squadron C-17 Globemaster III at Fort Bliss, Texas, Feb. 23, 2019. (Staff Sgt. Cory D. Payne/US Air Force via AP)
This image provided by the US Air Force shows the US Army Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) launching station preparing to load onto a 4th Airlift Squadron C-17 Globemaster III at Fort Bliss, Texas, Feb. 23, 2019. (Staff Sgt. Cory D. Payne/US Air Force via AP)
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Team of US Troops Supporting a Missile Defense System Arrives in Israel

 This image provided by the US Air Force shows the US Army Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) launching station preparing to load onto a 4th Airlift Squadron C-17 Globemaster III at Fort Bliss, Texas, Feb. 23, 2019. (Staff Sgt. Cory D. Payne/US Air Force via AP)
This image provided by the US Air Force shows the US Army Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) launching station preparing to load onto a 4th Airlift Squadron C-17 Globemaster III at Fort Bliss, Texas, Feb. 23, 2019. (Staff Sgt. Cory D. Payne/US Air Force via AP)

A team of American troops supporting a missile defense system in Israel has arrived in the country, the US military said.

A statement from Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder announced the team’s arrival in Israel on Monday.  

They will operate a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery there to defend against ballistic missile attacks from Iran.  

Tehran has launched two missile attacks on Israel as the wars in Gaza and Lebanon rage.

“Over the coming days, additional US military personnel and THAAD battery components will continue to arrive in Israel,” Ryder said. “The battery will be fully operational capable in the near future, but for operations security reasons we will not discuss timelines.”

Iran has warned US troops would be in harm’s way if Iran launches another attack on Israel.

The Biden administration believes it has won assurances from Israel that it will not hit Iranian nuclear or oil sites as it looks to strike back following Iran's missile barrage earlier this month, two US officials said Tuesday.

The administration also believes that sending the THAAD battery to Israel and roughly 100 soldiers to operate it has eased some of Israel’s concerns about possible Iranian retaliation and general security issues.

However, the US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private diplomatic discussions, cautioned that the assurance is not iron-clad and that circumstances could change.  

The officials also noted that Israel’s track record on fulfilling assurances in the past is mixed and has often reflected domestic Israeli politics that have upended Washington’s expectations.