Footage Shows Russia Deploying Nuclear Warheads, Aiming Them Where?

Footage released by the Russian Defence Ministry shows forces loading, arming, and moving missiles onto an Iskander-M mobile launcher in a large-scale nuclear drill conducted with Belarus on Wednesday, 20 May 2026. The clip illustrates troops loading, arming, and relocating missiles to firing positions as part of a readiness exercise for possible use of nuclear weapons. The Defence Ministry said the three-day exercise involved about 64,000 military personnel, more than 200 missile launchers, 140 combat aircraft, 73 surface ships, and 13 submarines. The drill also included procedures for launching Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons stationed in Belarus. The exercise comes amid rising tensions between Moscow and the West over the war in Ukraine. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned that the risk of direct confrontation between Russia and NATO is increasing due to narratives in several European capitals about the prospect of high-intensity war with Russia, and said the consequences could be very bad. Footage shows a convoy of Russia’s nuclear forces moving through a dense forest, disguising their vehicles before lifting the launcher tubes into firing positions. The Iskander-M missile system, nicknamed ‘SS-26 Stone’ by NATO, has a range of up to 500 kilometres and can carry conventional or nuclear warheads. Throughout the Ukraine war, President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly warned the West about Russia’s nuclear capability as a caution against increasing support for Kyiv. Meanwhile, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in the United States assesses the latest drill as aimed at bolstering psychological pressure on NATO while masking Moscow’s difficulties in continuing the war in Ukraine. (Russian Defence Ministry/Handout via Reuters)