Russia on Sunday morning promised to deliver nuclear-capable Iskander-M missiles to its ally Belarus as it looks to intensify efforts on the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Russia’s 24 February invasion of Ukraine included Russian armoured columns sent in from Belarus.
Iskander missiles have been deployed previously in Kaliningrad, a small Russian Baltic territory between NATO members, Lithuania and Poland. They have a range of up to 500km (300 miles).
Russian President Vladimir Putin made the promise when he met his Belarusian ally Alexander Lukashenko in St Petersburg on Saturday.
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Putin told President Lukashenko “in the next few months we’ll give Belarus tactical Iskander-M missile complexes, which can fire ballistic and cruise missiles, both conventional and nuclear types”, Russian RBC news reports.
The Belarusian President also asked Russia to make his country’s warplanes nuclear-capable, and the Russian leader further promised that Belarusian Su-25 fighter jets would be upgraded.
Russian cruise missiles were also fired from ships in the Black Sea on Saturday, Ukraine’s military said.
Ukraine also reported a heavy rocket strike on Desna, a village near Chernihiv in the north.