Military units in Belarus have begun joint training exercises with Russia on nuclear weapons combat, the Belarusian Ministry of Defence has announced.

The ministry said on Monday that the exercise was a planned event and not directed at any specific third party, according to a statement quoted by the Interfax news agency,

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The purpose of the exercise is to test readiness and carry out combat missions from unprepared areas throughout the country, the statement added.

The announcement was met with concern from Ukraine and its NATO allies. Kyiv has repeatedly accused Moscow of planning to launch a new attack from Belarus, either on its territory or one of its NATO allies, such as neighbouring Baltic states.

“By turning Belarus into its ‌nuclear staging ground near NATO borders, the Kremlin is de facto legitimising the proliferation of nuclear weapons worldwide ⁠and setting a dangerous ⁠precedent for other authoritarian regimes,” a Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement said.

Kyiv has urged its ⁠Western allies to ⁠tighten sanctions against Moscow and Minsk, the Belarus capital.

“Such actions must face unequivocal and ‌resolute condemnation from all states that respect ‌the nuclear ‌non-proliferation regime,” it declared.

Russian tactical nuclear weapons were stationed in Belarus after long-time ruler President Alexander Lukashenko requested their deployment. Belarus and its weak economy are heavily dependent on Moscow.

Lukashenko has previously expressed hope that the warheads will provide greater security during the perceived threat from NATO.

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However, “Europe’s last dictator” – as he has been dubbed – is eyeing an opportunity for sanctions relief and has recently sought to mend ties with the United States since the White House broke with Europe’s hardline approach to the war in Ukraine.

‘Attempt to inflame tension’

At the time of publication, the Russian Ministry of Defence had not published any information about the nuclear drills.

Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s allegation of a planned Russian offensive from Belarus.

“Such statements are nothing more than an attempt to further inflame tensions in order to prolong the war” in Ukraine, Peskov said.

The joint exercises come the day after Ukraine launched what Russian officials described as one of the largest drone barrages of the war towards Moscow, killing at least five people.

Russian forces invaded Ukraine from Belarus on February 24, 2022. Those forces, which are accused of committing numerous war crimes as they advanced to the outskirts of Kyiv, were repelled by the Ukrainian military before they reached the capital.

Zelenskyy warned Belarus on Friday against allowing itself to be drawn into Russia’s war, asserting with reference to intelligence reports, that Moscow is considering deploying Russian forces to again invade from the north.

He also suggested that Russia could seek to use Belarus as a staging post for an attack on one of the NATO countries bordering Belarus: Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.