Overview
- The exercises ran from 19–21 May and involved roughly 64,000 personnel, more than 200 missile launchers, over 140 aircraft, 73 surface ships and 13 submarines, according to Russian and Belarusian defence statements.
- Russian officials, including the chief of the general staff, said nuclear munitions were issued to units in Russia and Belarus, but open-source videos and analysts leave unresolved whether full warhead mating or permanent transfer of custody actually occurred.
- Moscow test-fired strategic systems during the drills, including an RS-24 Yars ICBM from Plesetsk, a Zircon hypersonic missile from a frigate in the Barents Sea and a Sineva SLBM from a submarine, and released footage of Borei submarines, MiG-31/Kinzhal and Iskander operations.
- The drills have heightened tensions with NATO and the Baltic governments, which deny Russian claims that Baltic airspace has enabled drone attacks on northern Russia and have increased air-policing and diplomatic protests in response.
- Analysts note the unusual timing and the phrasing 'under a threat of aggression,' warn of procedural safety risks when moving live warheads, and say the exercises extend a trend of deeper Russian military ties with Belarus that could affect regional security and economic pressure points such as energy and sanctions.