Russia To Send Nuclear-Capable Iskander-M Missiles To Belarus

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What has happened?

Russia has promised its ally Belarus delivery of nuclear- capable missiles in the coming months to take on an “aggressive” West.
Russian President Vladimir Putin made the announcement as Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko arrived in Moscow.
In a televised broadcast, Putin said: “In the coming months, we will transfer to Belarus Iskander-M tactical missile systems, which can use ballistic or cruise missiles, in their conventional and nuclear versions.”

Codenamed “SS-26 Stone” by NATO, Iskander-M is a term used by Russia to define both the transporter-erector launch system and the short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) it fires.
The system can also fire ground-launched cruise missiles (GLCMs) – the SSC-7 and the SSC-8.
The Iskander-M system has been exclusively used by the Russian military, whereas Iskander-E is the one meant for export.

The Iskander-M missile has a range of 500 km and it can carry a payload of up to 700 kg.
It is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads.
The conventional warheads can be equipped with include cluster bombs, electromagnetic pulse (EMP) warheads and bunker-buster munitions, according to US-based Missile Defence
Advocacy Alliance (MDAA).
The export variant, Iskander-E, has a range of 280 km with a reduced 480 kg payload.

While the Iskander system was inducted by Russia in 2006, its development picked pace in the late 1980s after the “Oka” SRBM or the OTR-23 was banned under the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty.
The Oka was Russia’s first attempt to replace the Soviet Scud missiles.
Iskander was the second. Russia first used the Iskander in combat in Georgia in 2008.

On August 8, 2008, Russian forces began the invasion of Georgia, Marking the start of Europe’s first twenty-first century war.

It is one more time that Putin has raised nuclear weapons as a sort of warning to the West against climbing the escalation ladder in the Ukraine war.
In the past too, Russia has used the Iskander system to project power against Europe, more so because of its ability to be fitted with tactical nuclear warheads.
In 2012, Moscow said that the weapon could be used to target Europe’s missile defences.
The Iskander system has already been deployed in Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave, from where it can be fired to target NATO forces in Poland, the Baltic States, and Sweden.

Russia has made the announcement at the time when the G-7 meets in Germany.
With its economy already under huge pressure from Western sanctions against banks, energy companies, airlines, high-tech and consumer goods, the choking off of the gold market will have a significant impact, according to G7 officials.
Given London’s central role in the international gold trade, “this measure will have global reach, shutting the commodity out of formal international markets,” Britain said.
“Gold, after energy, is the second largest export for Russia and a source of significant revenue for (President Vladimir) Putin and Russia,” the US official said,
Adding that the blocking of Moscow’s gold sector “will further isolate Russia from the global economy.“
The attempt to clamp down on Russian gold is likely to be the most meaningful economic measure against Moscow announced at the G7’s three-day meeting.
Gold is also a refuge commodity in times of turmoil.
Russian oligarchs are believed to have rushed to hide their assets from Western sanctions enforcers by converting to the precious metal.