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Report: Russia’s Nuclear Weapons Are Now in Belarus

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Russia’s Nuclear Weapons Are Now in Belarus

The move sends a clear political message, but some experts downplay its military significance..

• Jack Detsch
• Robbie Gramer

Russia has moved tactical nuclear weapons from its own borders into neighboring Belarus, several hundred miles closer to NATO territory, Western officials confirmed to Foreign Policy , as Russian President Vladimir Putin threatens a wider military showdown with the alliance over its continued support for Ukraine.

The move, which Putin first announced in June of last year, is likely aimed at ramping up pressure on NATO’s eastern flank. It follows years of nuclear saber-rattling intended to scare the West into paring back its support for Ukraine, now in its third year of war against Russia’s invasion, though top NATO officials insist that the move doesn’t drastically change the nature of Russia’s military threats to NATO.

Arvydas Anusauskas, Lithuania’s defense minister, was the first top official within the NATO alliance to confirm the news of the deployment. He warned that the risks of Western inaction were high, citing the lackluster response in the West to Russia moving more nuclear weapons to the Kaliningrad Peninsula, which is bounded by Poland and Lithuania on either side.

“We would like to see a harder response on that,” Anusauskas said. “If [the] Russians move nuclear weapons closer to us, we need to move as well.”

The nuclear question has hung over the heads of Western leaders ever since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. Top U.S. officials believed that Putin floated the possibility of using limited-yield tactical nuclear weapons in 2022 as he faced Ukrainian victories and significant battlefield setbacks before the conflict ground into a stalemate the following year.

Putin hasn’t taken that threat off the table, even in the conflict’s current state of relative deadlock. On Wednesday, ahead of Russia’s presidential elections this weekend, he doubled down.

“From a military-technical point of view, we are, of course, ready,” Putin told Rossiya-1 television and news agency RIA about the prospect of nuclear war with the West, when asked about threats to Russian sovereignty. Yet the Russian leader said he didn’t think that “everything is rushing head-on” toward a nuclear conflict. He also denied that he considered using tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine in 2022, saying that “there was never such a need.”

Western intelligence officials and open-source sleuths have spent months tracking the status of the Russian deployment to Belarus, which Putin himself framed as a warning to the West. The movement of the weapons to Belarus marks one of the westernmost deployment points of the Kremlin’s atomic arsenal.

The movement of its nuclear weapons has clear political signaling, but some experts downplayed the military significance of the move—arguing that the weapons don’t pose a higher or lower threat to the alliance simply by being moved several hundred miles closer to NATO territory.

“The Russians can reach any place in NATO with nuclear missiles with what they have on their own territory,” said Rose Gottemoeller, a former top U.S. arms control envoy and deputy secretary-general of NATO. “It does not change the threat environment at all. So it is purely a political message.”

Others went further, arguing that publicly responding to the movement of nuclear weapons in Belarus simply plays into Russia’s hands.

“What difference does it make, really?” Hanno Pevkur, Estonia’s defense minister, told Foreign Policy . “So this is why every discussion about ‘Jesus, we have a nuclear weapon in Belarus, look what happens.’ Come on. This is just a Russian plan to take away focus from Ukraine and to have extra topics on our agenda. But in reality, it doesn’t make any difference [to] how Russia behaves.”

Still, Putin may play up the nuclear threat against NATO in the near future, particularly as Russia struggles to reconstitute its decimated military forces in Ukraine and it sees Western military support for Ukraine starting to waver . But on the flip side, the West’s resolve against nuclear blackmail is growing.

“[Putin] wants to make sure there’s an edge of worry” in current U.S. and European debates on whether to continue supporting Ukraine, Gottemoeller said. “For Ukraine and NATO allies in Europe, it’s not that they’re immune to these threats, but they don’t have the flash-bang shock value that they had in the first days of the invasion.”

A new unclassified assessment from the U.S. intelligence community released this week concluded that Russia likely does not want to engage in direct military conflict with NATO, but it determined that the Kremlin will rely more heavily on nuclear weapons to deter the United States and the alliance as it rebuilds its land forces.

The Kremlin is believed to have an inventory of nearly 6,000 nuclear warheads, including ones with much smaller yields, known as “tactical” or battlefield nuclear weapons, and nuclear warheads with much larger, so-called “strategic” yields.

As U.S.-Russia relations steadily deteriorated in recent years—and then cratered following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022—both sides have abandoned decades-old arms control treaties.

Washington and Moscow now only have one nuclear arms control treaty left, the New START treaty, which the Kremlin unilaterally suspended last year. The treaty caps the number of deployed warheads, missiles, bombers, and strategic nuclear missile launchers that both sides can have, but does not apply to new weapons that Russia has been building in recent years. (The Pentagon estimates Russia has 2,000 nonstrategic nuclear weapons that the treaty doesn’t cover.)

NATO officials insisted during the Munich Security Conference in February that Russia had done nothing since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago to force the alliance’s nuclear-armed countries—the United States, France, and the United Kingdom—to change their posture. The United States stages tactical nuclear weapons in at least six bases in Europe.

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, seen by most Western officials as a Kremlin pawn, said in December that Russia had completed shipments of nuclear weapons to his country; however, until now, Western officials had not confirmed that the deployment was complete. Lukashenko had said the move was an effort to deter aggression from Poland, a NATO member on Belarus’s western border that spent an estimated 4 percent of GDP on defense in 2023. Though Belarus does not control the Russian warheads on its soil, the country has written a new military doctrine that stresses the use of tactical nuclear weapons to keep foreign attackers at bay.

Russia had already deployed Iskander missiles, which are nuclear capable, to Belarus by the end of 2022. Belarus has also become a home for about 2,500 to 4,000 members of the Russian paramilitary force known as the Wagner Group, according to Estonian intelligence estimates, many of them stationed at an old Soviet missile base about 50 miles from Minsk.

By October 2023, a senior Lithuanian diplomat and other Western officials indicated to Foreign Policy that Russia had built specific storage facilities and railway systems in Belarus to potentially house a nuclear arsenal. Russia had also begun training pilots in Belarus to use aircraft capable of deploying nuclear weapons.

Open-source analysts have focused on two particular sites in Belarus. In the town of Asipovichy, near a Russian base for Iskander missiles, officials have built a quadruple-layered security fence and garrison garages for potential launcher and warhead storage in the past year and a half, according to Hans Kristensen, the director of the nuclear information project at the Federation of American Scientists.

In the northeast corner of Belarus, in the town of Prudok, Russia appears to have constructed a bunker and a large storage garage near a railway entrance. “I think what they’re doing instead is more that they’re practicing their contingency capabilities to put them in there if they need to,” Kristensen said.

The United States, the United Kingdom, and France are in the middle of multidecade nuclear modernization efforts. Among Germans, with some officials fearing that a second Trump administration in the United States might not come to Europe’s defense against a Russian invasion, there is talk of fielding their own nuclear weapons, or at least developing a fallback plan if U.S. help doesn’t arrive.

“We need a second insurance policy,” Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said at an event at the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington in February. Sikorski stated during a briefing in Washington this week that Russia has found that “nuclear weapons are actually very hard to use,” owing to the military’s inability to fight in environments contaminated by nuclear fallout.

Even NATO—which has revamped its war plans for a possible Article 5 -level war against Russia—is beginning to think about its role in helping speed up that process.

“It will cause other NATO nations to think about whether they need to have nuclear weapons on their soil,” said Philip Breedlove, a retired four-star U.S. Air Force general who was formerly the dual-hatted NATO supreme allied commander and the head of U.S. European Command. Breedlove said he had no independent knowledge of Russia staging nuclear weapons in Belarus.

Beyond Belarus, Russia is building up its nuclear arsenal, too. The Kremlin claims that it’s put liquid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missiles on combat duty. The Russians are also fielding new nuclear-powered cruise missile submarines. And they’ve launched hypersonic cruise missiles against Ukraine, though the Ukrainians have managed to shoot down the sound barrier-breaking weapons with U.S.-made Patriot air defenses.

Other top NATO leaders said strengthening the alliance’s nuclear and conventional deterrence is the only proper response to Putin’s saber-rattling.

“Putin has a great weakness,” Sikorski said. “He attacks only when he thinks he can get away with it. He shrinks when in the face of strength, willpower, and credible deterrence.”

Jack Detsch is a Pentagon and national security reporter at Foreign Policy . Twitter:  @JackDetsch

Robbie Gramer is a diplomacy and national security reporter at Foreign Policy . Twitter:  @RobbieGramer

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Russia Unleashes a Missile Barrage, While Inching Ahead in Eastern Ukraine

Some of the missiles were launched from Belarus, whose leader is meeting Saturday with the Russian president.

• Share full article

By Marc Santora ,  Megan Specia and Ivan Nechepurenko

From the skies above Belarus to the north and the waters of the Black Sea to the south, Russian forces unleashed a fusillade of cruise missiles across Ukraine on Saturday, Ukrainian officials said, in one of the most widespread and coordinated aerial assaults in weeks.

Even as Russia pounded civilian and military infrastructure from the air, fierce fighting raged on the eastern front, where Russian forces pressed to cut off the supply lines for thousands of Ukrainian soldiers.

The Ukrainian military said that Russian warplanes had attacked Ukrainian positions near the eastern city of Lysychansk, the last urban stronghold still under Ukrainian control in the eastern Luhansk Province, as Russian forces pressed to encircle the city.

Maps: Tracking the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Here’s where Ukraine has mounted multiple attacks this week in the apparent beginning of its long-planned counteroffensive.

In its battered sister city of Sievierodonetsk, Mayor Oleksandr Striuk said Saturday that Russian troops had established full command, following the Ukrainian military’s withdrawal Friday.

The missile strikes came hours before President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia promised President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads at a meeting in St. Petersburg.

Belarusian forces are also once again conducting military drills near the border with the Kyiv region, raising tensions and putting the Ukrainian authorities on high alert.

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency called the Russian assault “a large-scale provocation of Russia for the purpose of further dragging Belarus into the war against Ukraine.” Western military analysts say it is unlikely that Belarus would join the Russian war effort, but Mr. Lukashenko’s hold on power is dependent on the Kremlin’s support, limiting his room for political maneuver.

President Biden was traveling on Saturday to Germany, where he would join the leaders of the world’s wealthiest democracies — known as the Group of 7 — to bolster Western resolve in supporting Ukraine in the face of the growing economic toll the war is taking on their nations.

Even as Ukraine faces perhaps its toughest moment on the battlefield since the early weeks of the war, the commander of its military, Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, released a slickly produced video to celebrate the first battlefield use of advanced multiple-launch rocket systems from the United States. He said the weapons were being used to hit “military targets of the enemy on our, Ukrainian, territory.”

But the Russian missile strikes offered a potent reminder of the vast destructive power of the arsenal at Moscow’s disposal, which has been both directed at military targets and used to indiscriminately pummel cities and towns.

The mayor of the embattled southern port city of Mykolaiv, which has been under attack from Russian forces since the start of the war, called for “everyone who wants to survive” to leave, because “it’s not clear when all this will be over.”

Speaking in an interview with Radio Liberty, he said that the city was being shelled daily, and that “around 80 percent of those munitions are cluster munitions” fired from Russian multiple-launch rocket systems.

Already about half of Mykolaiv’s prewar population of 480,000 has fled. Among those remaining, many are older, and about 80 percent of them survive on food and clothes distributed by aid organizations.

The Russian strikes on Saturday also hit areas of the country that have been relatively quiet in recent weeks. Even in western and northern regions, where the wail of air alarms had become more sporadic, they rang out numerous times in less than 48 hours to signal that missiles had been fired within striking distance.

Dozens of the missile strikes were launched by Russian aircraft in Belarusian airspace overnight, according to a Belarusian monitoring group, Belarusian Guyun, which has been detailing Russian actions since the start of the war.

The Ukrainian military intelligence agency said that six Russian Tu-22M3 strike bombers took off from the Shaykovka airfield in Russia’s Kaluga region, flying over Smolensk, before entering Belarusian airspace. Once they were within about 30 miles of the Ukrainian border, the agency said, they fired at least 12 cruise missiles before returning to Russian airspace. The missiles struck targets in the Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy regions, the military said.

Local Ukrainian officials reported more missiles that they said appeared to have been launched from Belarus, including a barrage of 24 missiles that hit the outskirts of Zhytomyr, a city about 80 miles west of Kyiv.

The toll from overnight strikes across the country was not immediately clear, and the Ukrainians seldom release details about strikes on military installations. But Vitaly Bunechko, the governor of the Zhytomyr region, said that at least one soldier had been killed and that another had been wounded.

In the Chernihiv region directly east of Kyiv, Vyacheslav Chaus, the area’s governor, said that a “massive missile strike” from Belarusian territory had destroyed infrastructure in the village of Desna, where Ukrainian forces also have a military installation.

The Ukrainians said their air defenses had shot down two missiles among a salvo of six launched from naval vessels on the Black Sea, with the remaining four hitting a “military object” in the Yavoriv area, the site of a military training base in Lviv region. Four people were injured, said Maksym Kozytskyi, the region’s governor.

The Yavoriv district has been targeted several times since the start of the war, including a major attack in March that killed and injured dozens .

The attacks came as Ukraine is on a heightened state of alert as the Belarusian Armed Forces hold “mobilization” drills near Ukraine’s northern border. The drills threaten to aggravate tensions in an already volatile region and have prompted Ukraine to put its border guards on high alert.

In the early stages of the war, Belarus allowed Mr. Putin to use its territory for Russian troops to stage a shock-and-awe operation to try to capture Kyiv. The plan failed spectacularly, but with Russia now bogged down in a grinding war of attrition in Ukraine’s east, Moscow would benefit from any help Mr. Lukashenko could provide.

On Saturday, Mr. Putin met with Mr. Lukashenko in St. Petersburg, promising to deliver the Iskander-M missile system — with a range of about 300 miles and capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads — “within months.” The Russian leader also vowed to upgrade Belarusian Su-25 fighter jets, after Mr. Lukashenko asked the Russian leader to make its warplanes capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

“We need to be ready for anything, even the use of serious weaponry to defend our fatherland from Brest to Vladivostok,” Mr. Lukashenko said, referring to Belarus’ westernmost city and Russia’s port in the Far East.

Ukrainian officials and Western observers think it is highly unlikely that Belarus, a former Soviet republic of 9.4 million people , will directly join the war at this time, given the risks of provoking social unrest at home and undermining Mr. Lukashenko’s grip on power. Nevertheless, analysts believe Mr. Lukashenko, an autocrat beholden to the Kremlin, is desperately trying to show his value to Mr. Putin.

And some analysts believe it is only a matter of time before pressure from Mr. Putin forces Mr. Lukashenko to take more direct action in the war, pushing him into an existential dilemma. Joining the conflict could undermine his support at home, but if he does not do Mr. Putin’s bidding, the Russian leader could retaliate by taking steps to force him from office.

Roger Cohen contributed reporting.

  More about Marc Santora

Megan Specia is a correspondent on the International Desk in London, covering the United Kingdom and Ireland. She has been with The Times since 2016. More about Megan Specia

Ivan Nechepurenko has been a reporter with the Moscow bureau since 2015, covering politics, economics, sports, and culture in Russia and the former Soviet republics. He was raised in St. Petersburg, Russia, and in Piatykhatky, Ukraine. More about Ivan Nechepurenko

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Belarus leader expected to join Putin for strategic nuclear drills

Alexander Lukashenko to join Russian leader for exercises at which ballistic and cruise missiles will be launched

Alexander Lukashenko may join Vladimir Putin at strategic nuclear drills, one day after offering to host nuclear weapons in Belarus to “defend our country”.

The annual strategic Grom drills of nuclear-capable missiles will take place on Saturday “under the supervision of Russian armed forces supreme commander-in-chief, Vladimir Putin”, Russia’s defence ministry has said in a statement. “Ballistic and cruise missiles will be launched in its course.”

Western countries remain concerned over Russia’s troop buildup on the Ukraine border . Russia has deployed up to 30,000 soldiers, tanks, artillery and ballistic missile systems to Belarus for joint exercises.

At a Kremlin summit on Friday, Putin said that he and Lukashenko, who met the Russian president at a much closer proximity than German chancellor, Olaf Scholz , this week, would be attending a “major military cooperation event” on Saturday.

“We’re going to be at an interesting event tomorrow,” Lukashenko said while discussing ongoing military exercises.

“And we’ll be participating,” Putin interjected. “We’ll actively take part.”

The Kremlin did not confirm whether they meant the nuclear drills, saying only: “If they decide to be there together, then they will be there together.”

The surprise announcement came as the two men were expected to discuss the fate of the Russian troops sent to the Allied Resolve military training exercises concluding on Saturday.

Western officials have warned that the military drills in Belarus could be cover for preparations for an invasion of Ukraine and a possible attack on Kyiv. Another option is that Russia could leave its troops in Belarus, creating a permanent threat on Ukraine’s border.

Satellite imagery has shown Russian armour and artillery within miles of the Belarus border with Ukraine, and western officials have pointed out unusual military activity such as the construction of a pontoon bridge over the Pripyat river in the Chernobyl exclusion zone .

The Russian-backed separatist states in east Ukraine on Friday announced a mass evacuation, stoking fears that Moscow is seeking a pretext to launch an intervention.

Russian officials have pledged that the troops will leave Belarus after the exercises conclude. But in contradictory remarks, Lukashenko on Thursday said: “If it makes sense to keep Russian troops here, we will keep them as long as necessary. I emphasise once again: this is our territory and this decision is up to us.”

The two men did not address questions of whether the troops would leave after 19 February. But Putin did say that the “active phase of [the exercises] will last in Belarus until 20 February,” perhaps indicating that a withdrawal would not take place immediately.

Lukashenko also said that he would be ready to host Russian nuclear weapons “in order to defend our territory”. He has also said he wants to obtain Russian Iskander missile systems that could deliver strikes against countries in Europe .

Moscow has so far agreed to neither.

Permanently stationing Russian troops in the country would be a controversial decision in Belarus. Many Belarusians, even supporters of Lukashenko, do not want to see further integration with Russia and would view a large Russian military presence as an occupation.

Lukashenko has resisted efforts to integrate his economy and politics with Russia under a union state plan but increasingly needs Russia’s financial and diplomatic support in his own standoff with the west.

The Russian troops in Belarus are some of the most concerning to western analysts because they have been sent thousands of miles from Russia’s eastern military district.

Thomas Bullock, a senior analyst at the defence intelligence provider Janes, said that the troops were among the Russian units that would have to withdraw in order for Russia to meaningfully decrease tensions.

“You want to see those long-distance journeys being pulled back,” he said.

Rochan Consulting has estimated that Russia has sent 50-70% of the eastern military district’s combat potential to Belarus. Units include armour, artillery, Spetsnaz special forces, engineering brigades, Iskander ballistic missile battalions, SU-35 fighters, paratroopers and anti-aircraft systems.

Western governments had warned that Russia was planning to hold the strategic nuclear drills this month, rather than in late summer as is customary.

The Russian drills would “involve forces and hardware belonging to the aerospace forces, the southern military district, the strategic missile forces, the northern fleet, and the Black Sea fleet”, the defence ministry said.

The Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Putin would take part in the exercise from a defence ministry operations centre. “Even test launches of this type are impossible without the head of state,” he told reporters. “You all know about his famed ‘black briefcase’, ‘the red button’ and so on.”

The exercise would “check the preparedness of military commands and crews of missile systems, warships and strategic bombers to accomplish their missions and at verifying the reliability of weapons of strategic nuclear and conventional forces”, the ministry said.

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Russians attack using cruise missiles and launch drones from Belarus: 4 missiles and 10 Shaded kamikaze drones shot down

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO – WEDNESDAY, 19 OCTOBER 2022, 16:16

The defence forces of Ukraine shot down four out of six cruise missiles launched by the occupiers and a dozen kamikaze drones as of 15:30 of 19 October.

Source:  Ukrainian Air Command, on Telegram

Details: The Air Force reported that at 12:05 on 19 October, the Russians attacked Ukraine from the northeast using strategic aircraft. Six X-101/X-555 cruise missiles were launched from Tu-95 and Tu-160 missile carriers.

One missile was destroyed by fighter aircraft and another by an anti-aircraft missile unit within the operational area of Air Command Tsentr (Centre) in Kyiv and Vinnytsia oblasts.

Two more missiles were shot down by the air defence of the Ground Forces in Chernihiv Oblast.

Simultaneously with the missile attack, the Russian occupiers attacked Ukraine using Shahed-136 kamikaze drones from the north, in particular from the territory of Belarus.

Air Command reported that as of 15:30 on 19 October, 10 kamikaze drones [barrage munitions] were destroyed by the air defence of Air Command Tsentr (Centre).

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron !

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What are tactical nuclear weapons and why did Russia order drills?

FILE - In this photo taken from a video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, on Dec. 9, 2020, a Russian Tu-160 strategic bomber fires a cruise missile at test targets, during a military drills, Russia. The Russian Defense Ministry said that the military will hold drills involving tactical nuclear weapons – the first time such exercise was publicly announced by Moscow. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)

FILE Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, walks to attend a welcome ceremony with Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov prior to their talks in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023. Putin has repeatedly reminded the West about Moscow’s nuclear might in a bid to discourage it from increasing military support to Kyiv. (Pavel Bednyakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - In this photo taken from video released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Monday, Jan. 22, 2024, a Su-25 warplane is seen from the cockpit of another such aircraft as they fire rockets on a mission over Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry said that the military will hold drills involving tactical nuclear weapons – the first time such exercise was publicly announced by Moscow. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)

FILE - This photo taken from video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Feb. 19, 2022, shows a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile being launched from an air field during military drills in Russia. The Russian Defense Ministry said that the military will hold drills involving tactical nuclear weapons – the first time such exercise was publicly announced by Moscow. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)

FILE - In this photo taken from video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022, The Russian army’s Iskander missile launchers take positions during drills in Russia. The Russian Defense Ministry said that the military will hold drills involving tactical nuclear weapons – the first time such exercise was publicly announced by Moscow. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)

FILE In this photo released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024, Russian troops load an Iskander missile onto a mobile launcher during drills at an undisclosed location in Russia. The Russian Defense Ministry said that the military will hold drills involving tactical nuclear weapons – the first time such exercise was publicly announced by Moscow. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)

FILE Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko watch military drills via videoconference in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022. The Russian military on Friday announced massive drills of its strategic nuclear forces. Last year, Russia moved some of its tactical nuclear weapons into the territory of its ally Belarus that neighbors Ukraine and NATO members Poland, Latvia and Lithuania. (Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko shake hands during a meeting of the Union State Supreme Council in St. Petersburg, Russia, Monday, Jan. 29, 2024. Last year, Russia moved some of its tactical nuclear weapons into the territory of its ally Belarus that neighbors Ukraine and NATO members Poland, Latvia and Lithuania. (Dmitry Astakhov, Sputnik, Government Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - This photo taken from video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, shows a Russian Iskander-K missile launched during a military exercise at a training ground in Russia. The Russian Defense Ministry said that the military will hold drills involving tactical nuclear weapons – the first time such exercise was publicly announced by Moscow. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)

FILE - In this photo taken from video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, Su-30 fighters of the Russian and Belarusian air forces fly in a joint mission during the Union Courage-2022 Russia-Belarus military drills in Belarus. The Russian Defense Ministry said that the military will hold drills involving tactical nuclear weapons – the first time such exercise was publicly announced by Moscow. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)

FILE - In this photo released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on April 20, 2022, a Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile is launched from Plesetsk in northwestern Russia. The Russian Defense Ministry said that the military will hold drills involving tactical nuclear weapons – the first time such exercise was publicly announced by Moscow. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)

FILE - In this photo taken from video released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on April 14, 2023, a Belarusian air force pilot speaks at an unidentified location. The video said that Belarusian air crews have completed a training course in Russia on using nuclear weapons. The Russian Defense Ministry said that the military will hold drills involving tactical nuclear weapons – the first time such exercise was publicly announced by Moscow. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)

FILE - In this photo taken from video released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, a long-range Tu-160 bomber takes off from a base in Russia to patrol Belarus’ airspace on Nov. 11, 2021. The Russian Defense Ministry said that the military will hold drills involving tactical nuclear weapons – the first time such exercise was publicly announced by Moscow. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)

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Russia’s Defense Ministry said Monday that the military would hold drills involving tactical nuclear weapons — the first time such an exercise has been publicly announced by Moscow .

A look at tactical nuclear weapons and the part they play in the Kremlin’s political messaging.

WHAT ARE TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPONS?

Unlike nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles that can destroy entire cities, tactical nuclear weapons for use against troops on the battlefield are less powerful and can have a yield as small as about 1 kiloton. The U.S. bomb dropped on Hiroshima during World War II was 15 kilotons.

Such battlefield nuclear weapons — aerial bombs, warheads for short-range missiles or artillery munitions — can be very compact. Their small size allows them to be discreetly carried on a truck or plane.

Unlike strategic weapons, which have been subject to arms control agreements between Moscow and Washington, tactical weapons never have been limited by any such pacts, and Russia hasn’t released their numbers or any other specifics related to them.

WHAT HAS PUTIN SAID ABOUT NUCLEAR WEAPONS?

Since launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly reminded Western nations about Moscow’s nuclear might in a bid to discourage them from increasing military support to Kyiv.

Early on in the war, Putin frequently referenced Moscow’s nuclear arsenal by vowing repeatedly to use “all means” necessary to protect Russia. But he later toned down his statements as Ukraine’s offensive last summer failed to reach its goals and Russia scored more gains on the battlefield.

Moscow’s defense doctrine envisages a nuclear response to an atomic strike or even an attack with conventional weapons that “threaten the very existence of the Russian state.” That vague wording has led some pro-Kremlin Russian experts to urge Putin to sharpen it to force the West to take the warnings more seriously.

Putin said last fall that he sees no reason for such a change.

“There is no situation in which anything would threaten Russian statehood and the existence of the Russian state,” he said. “I think that no person of sober mind and clear memory could have an idea to use nuclear weapons against Russia.”

WHY DID RUSSIA SEND NUCLEAR WEAPONS TO BELARUS?

Last year, Russia moved some of its tactical nuclear weapons into the territory of Belarus , an ally that neighbors Ukraine and NATO members Poland, Latvia and Lithuania.

Belarus’ authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko , had long urged Moscow to station nuclear weapons in his country, which has close military ties with Russia and served as a staging ground for the war in Ukraine.

Both Putin and Lukashenko said that nuclear weapons deployment to Belarus was intended to counter perceived Western threats. Last year, Putin specifically linked the move to the U.K. government’s decision to provide Ukraine with armor-piercing shells containing depleted uranium.

Neither leader said how many were moved — only that Soviet-era facilities in the country were readied to accommodate them, and that Belarusian pilots and missile crews were trained to use them. The weapons have remained under Russian military control.

The deployment of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, which has a 1,084-kilometer (673-mile) border with Ukraine, would allow Russian aircraft and missiles to reach potential targets there more easily and quickly, if Moscow decides to use them. It has also extended Russia’s capability to target several NATO allies in Eastern and Central Europe.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

What are tactical nuclear weapons and why did Russia order drills?

Russia’s Defense Ministry has declared that the military will hold drills involving tactical nuclear weapons

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Monday that the military would hold drills involving tactical nuclear weapons — the first time such an exercise has been publicly announced by Moscow .

A look at tactical nuclear weapons and the part they play in the Kremlin’s political messaging.

WHAT ARE TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPONS?

Unlike nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles that can destroy entire cities, tactical nuclear weapons for use against troops on the battlefield are less powerful and can have a yield as small as about 1 kiloton. The U.S. bomb dropped on Hiroshima during World War II was 15 kilotons.

Such battlefield nuclear weapons — aerial bombs, warheads for short-range missiles or artillery munitions — can be very compact. Their small size allows them to be discreetly carried on a truck or plane.

Unlike strategic weapons, which have been subject to arms control agreements between Moscow and Washington, tactical weapons never have been limited by any such pacts, and Russia hasn’t released their numbers or any other specifics related to them.

WHAT HAS PUTIN SAID ABOUT NUCLEAR WEAPONS?

Since launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly reminded Western nations about Moscow’s nuclear might in a bid to discourage them from increasing military support to Kyiv.

Early on in the war, Putin frequently referenced Moscow’s nuclear arsenal by vowing repeatedly to use “all means” necessary to protect Russia. But he later toned down his statements as Ukraine’s offensive last summer failed to reach its goals and Russia scored more gains on the battlefield.

Moscow’s defense doctrine envisages a nuclear response to an atomic strike or even an attack with conventional weapons that “threaten the very existence of the Russian state.” That vague wording has led some pro-Kremlin Russian experts to urge Putin to sharpen it to force the West to take the warnings more seriously.

Putin said last fall that he sees no reason for such a change.

“There is no situation in which anything would threaten Russian statehood and the existence of the Russian state,” he said. “I think that no person of sober mind and clear memory could have an idea to use nuclear weapons against Russia.”

WHY DID RUSSIA SEND NUCLEAR WEAPONS TO BELARUS?

Last year, Russia moved some of its tactical nuclear weapons into the territory of Belarus , an ally that neighbors Ukraine and NATO members Poland, Latvia and Lithuania.

Belarus’ authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko , had long urged Moscow to station nuclear weapons in his country, which has close military ties with Russia and served as a staging ground for the war in Ukraine.

Both Putin and Lukashenko said that nuclear weapons deployment to Belarus was intended to counter perceived Western threats. Last year, Putin specifically linked the move to the U.K. government’s decision to provide Ukraine with armor-piercing shells containing depleted uranium.

Neither leader said how many were moved — only that Soviet-era facilities in the country were readied to accommodate them, and that Belarusian pilots and missile crews were trained to use them. The weapons have remained under Russian military control.

The deployment of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, which has a 1,084-kilometer (673-mile) border with Ukraine, would allow Russian aircraft and missiles to reach potential targets there more easily and quickly, if Moscow decides to use them. It has also extended Russia’s capability to target several NATO allies in Eastern and Central Europe.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

• International

November 17, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

By Kathleen Magramo , Eliza Mackintosh , Jack Guy, Aditi Sangal and Adrienne Vogt , CNN

Russia launched "up to 18 cruise missiles" at Ukraine on Thursday morning, Ukraine says

From CNN's Tim Lister and Julia Kesaieva

Four KH-101 cruise missiles and five Iranian-made drones were shot down amid a wave of missile attacks by Russia on Thursday, the Ukrainian Air Force says.

"Russia again struck with strategic aircraft Tu-95M from the area of Volgodonsk of Rostov region," the Air Force Command said. "In total, nine missile-carrying bombers launched up to 18 cruise missiles of Kh-101/Kh-555 type."

The targets included an enterprise in Dnipropetrovsk region and a gas production facility, it noted. The Kremlin has stepped up attacks on Ukraine's critical energy infrastructure in the last several weeks.

The four cruise missiles brought down were destroyed by Air Command "Center" and all five Iranian-made Shahed UAVs that attacked Ukraine from the territory of Belarus were destroyed in the central region, it added.

In the south, the Air Force said, air defenses destroyed two Kh-59 guided missiles.

In recent weeks, Ukrainian air defenses have destroyed about two-thirds of incoming missiles, and a higher proportion of Iranian drones.

Dutch court says Moscow had control of Russian-backed separatists when MH17 was shot down

A Dutch court said Moscow had control of the Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine when Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 was shot down in 2014, killing all 298 people onboard.

Hendrik Steenhuis, the presiding judge, is reading the coutr's verdict in the trial of three Russians and one Ukrainian separatist who are accused of mass murder for their roles in the downing of the jet.

The court also found that a Russian-made Buk missile was used to bring down MH17.

Dutch court finds MH17 flight was shot down by Russian-made missile

A Dutch court has found that a Russian-made Buk missile was used to bring down Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014, killing all 298 people onboard.

A judge at the court is reading its verdict in the trial of three Russians and one Ukrainian separatist who are accused of mass murder for their roles in the downing of the jet.

Gas production facilities in eastern Ukraine "destroyed" by "massive shelling," says state-owned energy firm

From CNN’s Yulia Kesaieva and Jo Shelley

Several gas production facilities in eastern Ukraine were destroyed and others damaged after “massive shelling” on Thursday, according to Ukraine’s state-owned energy firm Naftogaz.

“We are currently aware of several destroyed facilities, other ones have suffered damage of varying degrees,” said Naftogaz chairman Oleksii Chernyshov in a statement .

Experts were on site to assess the consequences of the attack, he added.

Some context: Russian shelling and missile strikes continued to target civilian infrastructure in various parts of Ukraine overnight, including gas and electricity facilities, according to Ukrainian officials.

Air raid sirens sounded across the country, with strikes reported in the city of Dnipro, in central Ukraine; Izium, in the northern Kharkiv region; Vilniansk in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region; and the southern Odesa region.

At least four dead in Zaporizhzhia region after overnight strike, says Ukrainian official

A Russian missile strike on Vilniansk in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region killed at least four people overnight, Oleksandr Starukh, head of the regional administration, said on Telegram.

Starukh said three missiles had hit Vilniansk, sharing photos of a residential building which had been destroyed. 

“Currently, four victims have been found under the rubble. Their identities are being established,” he said.

Pictures posted by Ukraine’s State Emergency Service showed dozens of rescuers working at the scene.

Air raid sirens sounded across the country, with strikes reported in the city of Dnipro, in central Ukraine; Izium, in the northern Kharkiv region; and the southern Odesa region.

Russia's renewed barrage comes after Moscow's forces fired around 100 missiles on at least a dozen cities and districts Tuesday, according to Ukrainian officials and a CNN analysis of the strikes.

The attacks appeared to be the largest since October 10, when Russia stepped up its campaign to destroy electricity, water and gas infrastructure across Ukraine. 

World leaders welcome extension of Black Sea grain deal

From CNN’s Jo Shelley in London

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was among a number of world leaders that welcomed an agreement to extend the Black Sea grain deal on Thursday, after Moscow had threatened to pull out sparking concerns for global food supplies.

European Council President Charles Michel  said the agreement was “good news for a world that badly needs access to grain and fertilisers.”

The grain deal was brokered in July by the United Nations and Turkey to allow Ukraine to resume the export of grain and other agricultural products after Russia began a full-scale assault on the country in February. It was due to expire on November 19.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan  said on Twitter that the agreement on the extension had been reached after Turkey hosted discussions between the UN, Russia and Ukraine.

Erdogan said that more than 11 million tonnes of grain and other products had been shipped from Ukrainian ports so far under the deal.

The 120-day extension is less than the year-long extension  Ukraine says it asked for .

All evidence indicates missile strike was launched by Ukrainian air defenses, says Polish official

From CNN’s Antonia Mortensen

All of the evidence collected by NATO, the United States and Poland indicates that a missile which killed two people in Poland was fired by Ukrainian forces, according to a Polish official.

The evidence "indicates that we are dealing with an S-300 missile launched by Ukrainian air defenses," said Jacek Severa, the head of Poland's National Security Bureau, in an interview with Polish RMF FM radio on Thursday.

Two farmers died Tuesday when a missile landed outside the rural eastern Polish village of Przewodow, about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) west of the Ukrainian border.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has insisted the missile was not Ukrainian, and said that Ukrainian experts must be allowed access to the site of the explosion and review all data available to its allies. 

When asked why Zelensky denies it was a Ukrainian missile, Severa replied: “President Zelensky represents a country that is at war. The war that had the hardest time in terms of attacks and the use of air assault."

"It is normal that under such conditions certain hypotheses that seem obvious from the point of view of the defense of the state also seem obvious to the head of that state," he added.

Verdict due in murder trial over Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 shot down over Ukraine

From CNN's Sophie Tanno

Three Russians and a Ukrainian accused of mass murder and tried in absentia for their alleged involvement in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 are set to receive their verdict from a Dutch court Thursday. 

The Boeing 777 was on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014, when it was shot out of the sky over territory held by pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.

All 298 people on board were killed in the incident, including 15 crew members and 283 passengers from 17 countries.  

The downing of MH17 happened in the early phase of a conflict between pro-Russia separatists and Ukrainian forces.

An international investigation found that the plane was hit by a Russian Buk missile fired from a village in eastern Ukraine that was held at the time by pro-Russian rebels.

Prosecutors say the launcher belonged to Russia’s 53rd anti-aircraft missile brigade and was returned to Russian territory the day after the strike. Moscow has repeatedly denied any responsibility for the incident.

The trial marks the first time that independent judgement will be made on the 2014 incident. 

Three Russians, Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinskiy and Oleg Pulatov, were named as suspects, along with Ukrainian separatist Leonid Kharchenko.

According to investigators, Girkin is a former colonel of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Dubinskiy was employed by Russia’s military intelligence agency GRU and Pulatov was a former soldier of the Russian special forces, Spetsnaz-GRU.

Ukraine’s Kharchenko had no military background, but is believed to have led a combat unit in Donetsk in July 2014.

While the suspects are not accused of firing the missile at MH17, they are “just as punishable as the person who committed the crime,” according to Dutch prosecutor Fred Westerbeke.

The men were tried in absentia at Schiphol Judicial Complex in Badhoevedorp, the Netherlands, and are unlikely to serve time if convicted.

Pulatov was the only suspect to be represented by lawyers and has maintained his innocence throughout. 

Prosecutors have demanded life sentences for the suspects on charges of murder and causing an aircraft to crash. They have presented thousands of pages of evidence to support their case. 

Ukraine will likely be granted access to missile blast site in Poland, says Polish policy advisor 

From CNN’s Antonia Mortensen and Eve Brennan

Ukraine is likely to be granted access to the site in Przewodow, Poland, near the Ukrainian border, where a missile killed two people on Tuesday, according to a Polish official.

"A Polish-American investigating team is working at the site of the rocket's impact," Jakub Kumoch, top foreign policy advisor to Polish President Andrzej Duda, told Polish broadcaster TVN 24 in an interview on Thursday. If Poland and the United States agree, then the Ukrainians may soon receive access, he said.

The leaders of Poland and NATO have said the missile was likely fired by Ukrainian air defense forces attempting to thwart a barrage of Russian strikes, but that Moscow bore "ultimate responsibility" for having started the war. 

On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has insisted the missile was not Ukrainian, said that Ukrainian experts must be allowed access to the site of the explosion and review all data available to its allies. 

"The Ukrainian position is very transparent: we want to establish all the details, every fact. That is why we need our experts to join the work of the international investigation and to get access to all the data available to our partners and to the site of the explosion," Zelensky said in his daily video address.

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Russia Now Firing Kh-101 Cruise Missiles Modified With Two Warheads At Ukraine

R ussia is now adding a second warhead to its Kh-101 air-launched cruise missiles , widely used against targets across Ukraine. The jury-rigged solution apparently involves fitting a second charge — reportedly containing steel fragments to increase the overall destructive effect — at the expense of fuel and therefore range. It is not the first modification noted on Russian air-launched cruise missiles since the start of the full-scale invasion but it does reveal the extemporized nature of some of these adaptations.

Photos that are now circulating on social media show the wreckage of a Kh-101 — also known by the Western reporting name AS-23A Kodiak — in a field. One warhead can be seen within the mangled missile body, while another lies alongside it.

https://twitter.com/DEFENSEEXPRESS/status/1788156510696095969 https://twitter.com/JohnH105/status/1788260845933179036

According to Defense Express, a Ukrainian security and defense publication, the missile was brought down by Ukrainian air defenses on Tuesday night, although a technical failure cannot be ruled out.

https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1788090336708882573 Kh-101s under a Tu-95MS, in July 2022. Note the low-observable design of these missiles, designed to reduce their radar cross-section. Russian Ministry of Defense

This seems to be the first solid evidence of a Kh-101 modified with a second warhead. The first claims that such a weapon was being used emerged at the end of March among Ukrainian military bloggers. It was claimed that one of the missiles had been shot down, revealing two charges, with a combined weight of around 1,760 pounds compared to around 1,000 pounds for the single warhead in the standard Kh-101.

The second warhead was said to contain steel fragments. A fragmentation charge would render the weapon more effective against personnel and softer targets as well as increasing its lethal radius and blast damage. It could also be useful if accuracy is more limited.

The standard 9E-2648 warhead from a Kh-101 that came down in Ukraine in March 2022. Ukrainian Ministry of Defense

It should be pointed out that this is a very different solution to the kinds of twin warheads found in certain Western cruise missiles , in which a precursor charge is used to punch through hardened structures followed by a main change that detonates after breaching the target. The Russian solution is very much more crude and only intended to enhance area effects, but that’s not to say it won’t be effective above ground.

The implication of the second warhead is that the fuel capacity of the Kh-101 has been reduced since this would be the obvious way of creating more internal space. However, sacrificing fuel (and thereby range) is not a concern for Russia so long as it’s using Kh-101s to hit targets in Ukraine. With a reported maximum range of between approximately 1,870 and 2,480 miles, the basic Kh-101 can strike targets almost anywhere in Europe when launched within Russian airspace.

Targets within reach of the Kh-101 fall within the yellow circle, based on an estimated maximum range of 2,485 miles and missile launch directly over the Tu-160 home base of Engels. Google Earth

The Kh-101 is launched by both Tu-160 Blackjack and Tu-95MS Bear-H bombers operated by the Russian Aerospace Forces, or VKS.

According to an assessment from the U.K. Ministry of Defense, in its latest intelligence update on Ukraine, the twin-warhead Kh-101 modification has likely reduced the missile’s range by half. This would put it at somewhere between around 935 and 1,240 miles. Even at the lower end of this scale, the range would be sufficient to strike anywhere in Ukraine without the aircraft having to leave Russian airspace.

With this in mind, the decision to modify the Kh-101 in this way makes a good deal of sense for Russia, provided it doesn’t interfere with the flying qualities of the missile.

The radius of a twin-warhead Kh-101, based on a predicted lower-end range of 935 miles, with a launch from directly over the Tu-160 home base of Engels. Google Earth

As the U.K. Ministry of Defense points out, the twin warheads should make the Kh-101 notably more lethal, a major concern for Ukraine and its civilian population, who have been bearing the brunt of Russian long-range cruise missile attacks, much of which is aimed at energy infrastructure.

The U.K. Ministry of Defense states:

“The [Russian Long-Range Aviation] Command has sought to modify its systems and tactics throughout the conflict to: increase survivability as too many missiles were being intercepted by Ukrainian air defense systems; enhance capabilities to have greater effect; and use up older missiles as the VKS had depleted more modern systems in the early days of the conflict.”

Another feature of the Kh-101 that has become obvious since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine is its ability to release decoy flares in flight . Kh-101s have been noted employing this capability in Ukraine since at least January 2023, although a self-defense function of some kind is understood to have always been present in these missiles.

There have also been reports of Russia fielding a new countermeasure-equipped Kh-101 subvariant, known as the izdeliye 504AP. According to these accounts, the revised countermeasures are intended to “jam” enemy surface-to-air missiles, which could suggest dispensers loaded with chaff.

Other modifications made to existing air-launched cruise missiles, and specifically their warheads, have been reported on the earlier Kh-55, known to NATO as AS-15 Kent.

In late 2022, reports emerged that examples of the Kh-55 were having their normal nuclear warheads removed entirely and were being used unarmed. In this capacity, their value would be as decoys that put further pressure on Ukraine’s air defenses and provide false targets, increasing the likelihood of ‘real’ missiles and drones getting through.

Even older than the Kh-55 is the Kh-22 (AS-4 Kitchen), a supersonic cruise missile with a primary anti-shipping role. Examples have been used against land targets in Ukraine, some of these missiles reportedly also being fitted with cluster warheads, as discussed in this previous article .

As we discussed in the past, the Kh-22’s advantages include its supersonic speed and terminal dive on its target, making it very hard to intercept . However, the missiles are also inaccurate against ground targets, a factor that would be mitigated somewhat by a cluster munition warhead.

All these examples reflect Russia’s willingness to adapt its legacy weapons to better suit the demands of its war in Ukraine. They also reveal the limits in terms of the availability of more appropriate missiles .

It remains to be seen if the twin-warhead Kh-101 will be a more regular feature of Russia’s strikes on Ukraine. But if it does prove viable, its additional destructive power will be bad news for Ukraine and will once again highlight the country’s need for more and more effective air defense systems to counter these and other threats.

Contact the author: [email protected]

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Russia resumed the use of Kalibr cruise missiles, but are having problems launching them - Ukrainian army

Russia has resumed the use of Kalibr cruise missiles in its attacks on Ukraine, but is experiencing difficulties in their launches, Ukraine's South Volunteer Army spokesperson, Serhiy Bratchuk, said on national TV on May 9,

Russia used its Kalibr missiles for the fourth time in the past six months during its latest mass attack on Ukraine on May 8.

Their use was systematic in 2022 and 2023.

Russia's Black Sea Fleet has seen its influence in the area diminish following several successful Ukrainian attacks, forcing Russia to change how it launches its Kalibr missiles.

They now often launch from submarines in the Black Sea, which are difficult to track, Bratchuk said.

Read also: Russia boosts Kh-101 cruise missile for more precise strikes in Ukraine

"The enemy is trying to show a presence in the Black Sea, but they have, or already had, a problem with the use of missile carriers because they do not use them so actively," he said.

"Perhaps there is a problem with the launchers on the ships themselves," he questioned.

Russia's mass missile attack on Ukraine on May 8

A nationwide air raid alert was announced overnight on May 8 during Russia's latest mass missile attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure .

Read also: Burnt houses, broken trolleybuses, giant craters — Photos & video of Russia's mass attack on Ukraine on May 8

Russia attacked Kyiv with cruise missiles from different directions, with the capital's air defense system destroying all targets .

Two people were injured in the Kyiv suburb of Brovary after a fire broke out at a civilian infrastructure facility.

An energy infrastructure facility in Poltava Oblast caught fire after being hit, regional authorities reported. ​​

Vinnytsia Oblast administration also reported a hit.

Russia attacked electricity generation and transmission facilities in six oblasts of Ukraine: Poltava, Kirovohrad,  Zaporizhzhya , Lviv,  Ivano-Frankivsk , and Vinnytsia, Ukraine's Energy Minister, Herman Halushchenko, reported.

Russia seriously damaged three DTEK thermal power plants , DTEK reported.

The Ukrainian military destroyed 59 enemy air targets: 39 missiles and 20 Shahed UAVs.

We’re bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron !

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine

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Ask our military analysts or international correspondents a question on the Ukraine war in the box below.

Thursday 9 May 2024 09:18, UK

• Putin: We want to avoid global confrontation, but nuclear forces ready if needed  
• Home Office expels Russian diplomat who was 'undeclared military intelligence officer'
• Dominic Waghorn: Russia may have crossed the line - but UK move to expel attache increases risk of dangerous escalation
• Ed Conway : Russian oil still seeping into UK - the reasons why sanctions are not working

Ask a question or make a comment

Vladimir Putin used his Victory Day speech this morning to warn that Russia's combat forces were "always ready".

But he admitted the country was going through a "difficult period".

You can watch a segment from his speech here:

We aren't bringing you live updates today, but here is the main story this morning.

Vladimir Putin has just finished speaking at Russia's annual Second World War victory parade.

The president, now in his fifth term, said that Russia will do all it could to avoid a global confrontation, amid rising rhetoric about a face-off with NATO.

Mr Putin, however, said it would not allow any nation or alliance to threaten Russia.

As he's said multiple times since he invaded Ukraine, the Russian leader warned the West that his nuclear forces were always at a state of combat readiness. 

He was addressing scores of troops in Moscow's Red Square - here are the best images from the Russian capital... 

Thanks for following our live coverage, we'll be back soon with more live updates. 

Kosovo's foreign minister has said her country is convinced Russia must lose the war in Ukraine for conflict not to spread further in Europe.

Donika Gervalla-Schwarz said her young nation's support for Ukraine was unconditional - despite Kyiv not having recognised Kosovo's independence.

Ms Gervalla-Schwarzd her small Balkan nation, which declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, is repeatedly reminded of the aggressive intentions of both Serbia and its ally Russia.

"Ukraine hasn't recognised the Republic of Kosovo as a state, but we really believe that we know exactly what Ukraine is going through," she told The Associated Press in an interview.

"And we know that there is only one solution, not only for Ukraine, but for Europe," she said.

"It can only be Russia to lose the war and Ukraine to win this war. Otherwise, Europe should prepare for other conflicts in our continent."

The people of Kosovo were the targets of war crimes and other atrocities by Serbia's security forces in the 1990s, an experience that led Kosovo to seek independence.

"While Kosovo is a small state with very modest possibilities to help, we have tried to be very helpful with Ukraine and have not hesitated to show our unconditional support and sympathy to the people and to the state of Ukraine," Ms Gervalla-Schwarz said.

Lord Cameron has called the UK's measures on a Russian defence attache "an unequivocal message" to Moscow. 

The foreign secretary was replying to James Cleverly's post on X in which he said the Home Office expelled a Russian defence attache as part of a series of measures against the country.

Other measures in the package include removing the diplomatic premises status from several Russian owned properties in the UK and capping the amount of time Russian diplomats can spend in the UK.

Budapest is once again raising eyebrows across the world's biggest military alliance as it pledges to defy a NATO initiative. 

The alliance's long-term plan to support Ukraine militarily was agreed in April, but was dubbed a "crazy mission" by Hungary's foreign minister today. 

Under the plans, NATO would take over some coordination work from a US-led coalition known as the Ramstein group.

Discussing the plans today, Peter Szijjarto said: "Hungary will stay out of NATO's crazy mission despite all the pressure."

Relations between Budapest and NATO have soured because of Hungary's foot-dragging over the ratification of Sweden's NATO accession - finally passed by Budapest in March - and also over nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban's close ties with Moscow. 

The Russian embassy in London has said there will be "an appropriate response" after Britain expelled a Russian defence attache.

The embassy said the restrictions that had been imposed were done under a "groundless and ridiculous pretext", according to Russian state news agency TASS.

It comes after Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was reported as telling journalists that the Kremlin will respond appropriately following the expulsion.

Dominic Waghorn, international affairs editor

It's always assumed defence attaches play some kind of role gatherling intelligence and that is generally tolerated by their host countries. 

They could be gathering data about weapons production for instance or ship building but there is a line they are expected not to cross. 

The assumption here is that the Russians have broken the rules of the game.

But the British government will have thought long and hard before expelling the Russian. It doesn't come without cost.

In their day jobs defence attaches play a crucial role in liaising with their hosts.  That can be very important in terms of avoiding misunderstandings that could lead to unnecessary and dangerous escalation. 

Losing Russia’s defence attache in London deprives the UK of one more line of liaison at a time when clear understanding and clarification could be essential to avoiding deepening conflict.

That is not ideal at a time of war. 

What is not clear is how much these moves are connected specifically to the conduct of the Russians involved or should they actually be seen more as another chapter in the diplomatic war underway between Russia and the UK.

The UK has undoubtedly weakened Russia's ability to spy in the UK and gather intelligence but these measures will also affect Britain's ability to predict and avoid potential escalation. 

That will be made even worse if Russia, as may be expected, responds with like-for-like retaliation

Seven people have been injured by Russian shelling in eastern Kharkiv, according to the region's governor.

Oleg Synegubov said among those wounded was an eight-year-old girl and three boys, two aged 14 and the other 15. 

"Two [of the] boys are in serious condition, [the other] boy and [the] girl are in average condition," he said. 

One 55-year-old civilian of unspecified gender was also hospitalised. 

Two women had minor injuries. 

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has offered his thoughts on the expulsion of a Russian defence attache the government has accused of being an undeclared military intelligence officer. 

"Today we've expelled Russia's defence attache who has been working as an intelligence officer for Putin in the UK," he said on X. 

"We will not tolerate Putin’s efforts to undermine our nation and democracy and will continue to stand up for freedom here and in Ukraine."

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• International

February 16, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

By Kathleen Magramo , Jack Guy, Aditi Sangal , Leinz Vales , Adrienne Vogt , Matt Meyer and Maureen Chowdhury , CNN

Total of 36 Russian missiles fired at Ukraine overnight, says Ukrainian military chief

From CNN's Olga Voitovych and Radina Gigova

Russia launched a total of 36 air and sea-based cruise missiles, guided air-to-surface missiles and anti-ship missiles at Ukraine overnight into Thursday, according to Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Zaluzhnyi said 14 cruise missiles and 2 guided air-to-surface missiles were shot down by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

"The aggressor state, the russian federation, fired yet another missile barrage on the critical infrastructure of Ukraine," his Facebook post read. "From 01:40 to 03:45 on February 16, the enemy launched air and sea-based cruise missiles, guided air-to-surface missiles and anti-ship missiles.

"Tu-22M3 and Tu-95ms strategic aircraft from the Kursk area and the Caspian Sea water area, respectively, Su-35 tactical aircraft in the vicinity of temporarily occupied Melitopol and cruise missile carriers in the Black Sea water area" were used in the attacks, said Zaluzhnyi.

Lukashenko says he will not send troops to Ukraine unless Belarus is attacked

From CNN's Fred Pleitgen, Zahra Ullah and Claudia Otto

There is “no way” Belarus will send troops to Ukraine unless the country is attacked, the country's President Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday.

“We are peaceful people we know what war is and we don’t want war,” Lukashenko said at a press conference in Minsk at the Palace of Independence, attended by reporters from selected news outlets including CNN. 

“There is no way we are going to send our troops to Ukraine unless you are going to commit aggression against Belarus," added Lukashenko. “But don’t forget Russia is our ally, legally, morally and politically.”

Lukashenko added that Russia has “never asked” him to start a joint war in Ukraine.

Some context: Lukashenko is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the two countries maintain a joint grouping of military forces.

Russia used Belarusian territory as one of its entry points for the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. 

Joint military drills over the last year have contributed to concerns that Belarusian troops could join Russia's forces in Ukraine, but Lukashenko has repeatedly dismissed speculation that his troops would join the fighting in Ukraine.  

Read the full story here.

Three missiles hit critical infrastructure facility in Lviv region overnight, says local official

From CNN's Olga Voitovych in Kyiv

Three Russian missiles have hit a critical infrastructure facility in Lviv region, according to the head of the Lviv region military administration Maksym Kozytskyi.

"Unfortunately, overnight the enemy launched a missile attack on our region. Three missiles hit a critical infrastructure facility," he said on Thursday.

"The only thing I can clarify is that this is not a facility that is crucial for the electricity supply in Lviv region," he added.

"There was a fire and it was quickly extinguished. The employees were in a shelter. There were no casualties or injuries," he said.

Russia fired at least 32 air and sea-launched cruise missiles targeting critical infrastructure facilities in Ukraine overnight Thursday, the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a post on Telegram. 

At least 16 of the missiles were destroyed by Ukrainian Armed Forces, the post said. 

Russia launches "massive missile attack" on Ukrainian infrastructure, officials say

From CNN's Olga Voitovych

Russia launched a "massive missile attack on critical infrastructure facilities" in Ukraine overnight into Thursday, firing at least 32 missiles, the Ukrainian Air Force said in a post on Telegram. 

At least 16 of the missiles were destroyed by Ukrainian air defenses, the post said. 

Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said Russia also launched drones in the attacks.

"Unfortunately, there were hits in the North and West of Ukraine, as well as in Dnipropetrovsk and Kirovohrad regions," Yermak said. Ukraine's air defenses "managed to cope with most of the enemy missiles and UAVs," he added.

Earlier, officials in Ukraine's western Lviv region said Russian forces had struck a critical infrastructure facility.

Russian strikes hit critical infrastructure in Lviv

From CNN's Teele Rebane

A "critical infrastructure facility" was hit during a Russian attack on Ukraine's western Lviv region on Thursday, Maksym Kozytskyy, head of the Lviv regional military administration, said in a Telegram post. 

There were no casualties or injuries, he said. 

A fire broke out but has since been extinguished, he added.

Analysis: The West's hardest task in Ukraine — Convincing Putin he's losing

Analysis from CNN's Stephen Collinson

Ending the  war in Ukraine  on terms acceptable to its President  Volodymyr Zelensky  will require the West to convince Russian leader Vladimir Putin he’s losing.

Good luck with that.

Ahead of next week’s anniversary of the Russian invasion, US and Western leaders are gearing up for a show of unity and strength designed to establish once and for all that NATO is in the conflict for the long haul and until Moscow’s defeat.

“Russia has lost — they’ve lost strategically, operationally, and tactically,” the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley said on Tuesday. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned Wednesday that “Putin must realize that he cannot win” as he explained the rationale for rushing arms and ammunition to Ukrainian forces. And Julianne Smith, the US ambassador to NATO, told CNN’s Becky Anderson that Washington was doing all it could to “continue to apply pressure on Moscow to affect (Putin’s) strategic calculus.”

And in  an opinion article by CNN’s Peter Bergen , retired US General and former CIA Chief David Petraeus said the conflict would end in a “negotiated resolution” when Putin realizes the war is unsustainable on the battlefield and on the home front.

The Western rhetorical and diplomatic offensive will ratchet up further as Vice President Kamala Harris heads to the Munich Security Conference this week. President Joe Biden  will meanwhile visit Poland and a frontline NATO and ex-Warsaw pact state next week, bolstering his legacy of offering the most effective leadership of the Western alliance since the end of the Cold War.

Read the full analysis:

The West's hardest task in Ukraine: Convincing Putin he's losing | CNN Politics

Death toll rises to 3 after russian attack on apartments in pokrovsk, ukrainian authorities say.

From CNN's Maria Kostenko in Kyiv 

Ukrainian regional authorities said three people were killed and 11 people wounded on Wednesday in a Russian attack in the town of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region. One of the severely injured civilians remains in the hospital. 

"Four multi-story buildings and a school were damaged due to the attack," the head of the Donetsk region military administration Pavlo Kyrylenko said in a Telegram post. "The rescue operation at the building destroyed by Russians is over."

In a video of the aftermath posted by the Donetsk region military administration, one woman says her husband died in the kitchen of their apartment. 

Fourteen residents of the building have decided to evacuate from the Donetsk region, while the rest will remain in Pokrovsk, according to regional authorities. 

The Ukrainian General Staff said Russian forces launched 28 Multiple Launch Rocket System attacks on civilian infrastructure in both the Donetsk region and the Kherson region. 

Russian official allegedly at the center of scheme to forcibly adopt, "re-educate" Ukrainian children

From CNN's Mick Krever

Read Maria Lvova-Belova’s social media, and one might think  Russia  is selflessly delivering Ukrainian children from evil into the care of Russian families desperate to share their love.

But according to American and European governments — and a new report by Yale investigators, backed by the US State Department — she is at the center of  a Russian government scheme to forcibly deport thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia , often to a network of dozens of camps, where the minors undergo political reeducation.

“Maria Lvova-Belova is one of the most highly involved figures in Russia’s deportation and adoption of Ukraine’s children, as well as in the use of camps for ‘integrating’ Ukraine’s children into Russia’s society and culture,” the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab’s Conflict Observatory wrote.

Lvova-Belova, who was appointed to be President Vladimir Putin’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights in 2021, created her Telegram channel days after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Between photos alongside the who’s who of Russian power — from Putin to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Chechen Leader Ramzan Kadyrov — she posts glossy photos and videos of the wonderful life supposedly being offered to Ukrainian children.

“By the end of the week, one hundred and eight orphans of Donbass who have received Russian citizenship will have parents,” Lvova-Belova wrote in a typical post on her Telegram channel last July, using the Russian spelling for Ukraine’s Donbas (Donetsk and Luhansk) regions. “Shurochka was the first to be handed over to her mother. When I heard this happy child’s laughter, I could not hold back [tears].”

Lvova-Belova regularly visits Russian occupied-Ukraine, and the Russian government boasts of her personally escorting planeloads of children back from Ukraine. Putin has empowered Lvova-Belova to use unspecified “additional measures” to identify children who don’t have parental care in the four Ukrainian regions it claims to have annexed.

UNICEF, the United Nations’ children’s organization, has said that “adoption should never occur during or immediately after emergencies,” and that during upheaval, children separated from their parents cannot be assumed to be orphans. The UN furthermore considers forcibly transferring another country’s population within or beyond its borders to be a war crime.

Russia has characterized reports of forcible relocation as “absurd” and said it does its “best” to keep minors with their families.

Read more here.

"Tense" situation in eastern Ukraine amid ongoing offensive, Ukrainian defense official says

From CNN's Lauren Kent and Maria Kostenko in Kyiv

The situation in eastern Ukraine is "tense" as Russia's offensive is "ongoing," according to Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar on Wednesday. 

"The assaults are day-and-night. The situation is tense," Maliar said in a Telegram post. "Yes, it’s hard on our people. You can see for yourself what kind of war Russia is doing. Nevertheless, our fighters are keeping the enemy from reaching their goals and inflicting massive losses."

Maliar claimed that Russia is facing personnel losses of "up to 80%" in some of its army units and units of the Wagner private military company. CNN cannot independently verify those claims. 

Maliar also reiterated Ukraine's claims that many Russian soldiers have a low level of readiness after undergoing "accelerated" basic training courses of only 14 to 21 days. 

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