Putin told Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at a meeting in St. Petersburg that missile systems “can use both ballistic and cruise missiles, both conventional and nuclear,” according to the Kremlin.
Russia began its invasion on February 24, partly from the territory of Belarus, which borders Ukraine to the north. During the war, Moscow used Minsk as a satellite base, including for many of Russia’s air operations in Ukraine, according to intelligence gathered by NATO surveillance planes.
On Saturday, Ukraine said Russian forces had fired numerous missiles at the Kiev, Chernihiv and Sumy regions from Belarus.
In a transcript of the meeting, Lukashenko expressed to Putin his “stress” from what he claimed were flights of US and NATO planes “training to carry nuclear warheads” near the border with Belarus.
He asked Putin to consider a “mirror response” to the flights or to convert Russian fighter jets currently stationed in Belarus to “carry nuclear warheads.”
Putin replied that “there is no need” to compare US flights and suggested that Belarus modify its own Su-25 aircraft to have nuclear capability.
“This modernization must be done in aircraft factories in Russia, but we will agree with you on how to do it. And start training the flight crew accordingly, “Putin said.
What is Iskander-M?
Iskander-M is a short-range ballistic missile system built in Russia that can carry conventional or nuclear warheads with a maximum range of up to 500 kilometers (310 miles), according to Janes Defense.
The weapon uses both optical and inertial targeting systems to hit its targets by striking them with a range of warheads, such as cluster munitions, vacuum bombs, bunkers and electromagnetic pulse (EMP) warheads, according to the Alliance for Missile Defense .
Iskander-M was first used in 2008 during the Russia-Georgia conflict, when the Russian military used it to hit targets in Gori, according to the Alliance.
CNN asked the Pentagon to comment on Lukashenko’s allegations.
G-7 and NATO summits
The meeting between the Russian and Belarusian strong men came a week ago at the summits in Europe, where the heavy war in Ukraine, which is entering its fifth month, will be in front and in the center.
The leaders of Japan, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, the European Union and host Germany will meet for the Group of 7 on Monday.
US President Joe Biden hopes to announce new sanctions and military aid along with European allies during visits to Germany and Spain. The G7 and NATO summits will hear Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who continues to appeal to the United States and other countries for more help.
During his evening address on Saturday, Zelensky said “sanctions packages against Russia are not enough” and called on Western partners to provide more “armed assistance” to Ukraine.
“Air defense systems – the modern systems available to our partners – should not be in training areas or warehouses, but in Ukraine, where they are now needed,” he said.
The fall of Severodonetsk
On Saturday, the eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk was “completely under Russian occupation,” the city’s military chief Alexander Stryuk said after months of grueling and bloody fighting. Severodonetsk was one of the last major Ukrainian fortresses in the region.
The regional military said on Friday that the last troops in Severodonetsk had been ordered to leave as it was impossible to continue defending their positions. This effectively ceded the city to Russia and placed the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk almost entirely under Russian control.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday that its forces had already taken control of the entire left bank of the Seversky Donets, the eastern side of the river and all borders of the Luhansk People’s Republic.
Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for the defense ministry, said Russian forces had “completely liberated the towns of Severodonetsk and Borivske, the villages of Voronovo and Sirotine in the Luhansk People’s Republic.”
Kaitlan Collins, Tim Lister and Olga Voitovich of CNN contributed to the report.
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