Russia will transfer nuclear-capable Iskander-M missile systems to its ally Belarus over the next few months, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday.
According to the Kremlin, Russian President Alexander Lukashenko told Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko that missile systems can use both ballistic and cruise missiles, both in conventional and nuclear versions.
Russia launched its February 24 invasion from Belarusian territory, which borders Ukraine to the north. According to intelligence collected by NATO surveillance planes, Moscow has used Minsk as a satellite base for many of Russia's air operations in Ukraine during the war.
On Saturday, Ukraine claimed Russian forces had fired multiple missiles in the Sumy, Chernihiv and Kyiv regions of Belarus.
In a transcript of the meeting, Lukashenko expressed his stress over flights by the United States and NATO planes training to carry nuclear warheads close to Belarus' border.
He asked Putin to consider a mirrored response to the flights or to convert Russian fighter jets, which are currently deployed to Belarus, to carry nuclear warheads. Putin said that there was no need to match the US flights and that Belarus could modify its own Su- 25 aircraft to be nuclear-capable instead.
This modernization should be carried out in Russian aircraft factories, but we will agree with you on how to do this. Putin said that the flight crew should be trained.
The Iskander-M is a Russian-built short-range ballistic missile system that can carry conventional or nuclear warheads with a maximum range of 500 kilometers 310 miles, according to Janes Defense.
The weapon uses optical and inertial guidance systems to strike its targets, a range of warheads such as cluster munitions, vacuum bombs, bunker-busters and electromagnetic pulse EMP warheads, according to the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance.
The Iskander-M was first used in 2008 during the Russia-Georgia conflict, when the Russian army used it to hit targets in Gori, according to the Alliance.
CNN reached out to the Pentagon for comment on Lukashenko's claims.
The Russian and Belarusian strongmen met ahead of a week of summits in Europe, where the grinding war in Ukraine entering its fifth month will be front and center.
The leaders of Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, the European Union and host Germany will meet on Monday for the Group of 7 meeting.
During his nightly address on Saturday, Zelensky said that sanctions against Russia are not enough and called for western partners to provide Ukraine with more armed assistance. He said that the modern systems that our partners have should not be used in training areas or storage facilities, but in Ukraine, where they are now needed.
Regional military officials said on Friday that the last troops in Severodonetsk had been ordered to leave, as it was impossible to keep defending their positions. The eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk was almost completely under Russian control, as this ceded the city to Russia.
Russia's Ministry of Defense said on Saturday that its forces have now taken control of the entire left bank of the Siverskyi Donets, the eastern side of the river, and all the borders of the Luhansk People's Republic.
General Igor Konashenkov, a defense ministry spokesperson, said Russian forces have completely liberated the cities of Severodonetsk and Borivske, the settlements of Voronove and Syrotyne of the Luhansk People's Republic.