Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Mikhail Galuzin, stated in an interview that the regimes of dictator Vladimir Putin and Belarusian Aleksander Lukashenko, an ally of Moscow, are willing to employ “all means, including nuclear” to defend the two countries, in a message to NATO.
“The modalities of interaction between the armed forces of Russia and Belarus, as well as between the security agencies of Russia and Belarus, are being continuously improved. We remain in constant readiness to employ all means, including nuclear, to guarantee the security of the Union State”, said Galuzin in an interview with the newspaper Izvestia, citing the partnership of economic and military cooperation between the two countries.
“Moscow and Minsk are continuously improving the entire structure of defense and security cooperation in accordance with the treaty on mutual security guarantees within the framework of the Union State. The document was signed in December 2024 and provides for the obligation of mutual support in the event of threats to the security of any of the countries,” added the deputy minister.
Izvestia, with a pro-Putin editorial line, stated that NATO countries are intensifying military exercises “close to the borders of the Union State” and increasing their troops. The commander of the Belarusian Air Force and Air Defense, Andrei Lukyanovich, told the newspaper that “the number of provocations involving drones is also increasing.”
In May, the two regimes held military exercises involving Russia’s nuclear weapons. Belarus shares borders with three NATO countries: Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.
Even though it denies sending troops to fight in Ukraine, the Lukashenko regime helps Russia in the war against the neighboring country.
Before the Russian invasion in February 2022, Belarus allowed the armed forces of Putin’s dictatorship to carry out military exercises on its territory. When the war began, Russian troops invaded northern Ukraine from the border with Belarus, seeking to capture the capital, Kiev, but retreated after a few weeks of fighting.
In 2023, Lukashenko agreed to host Russian tactical nuclear missiles in Belarus. The Belarusian regime has also allowed Russian missile launchers to be deployed on its territory for attacks against Ukraine.