Russia’s Most Capable Nuclear Bombers Fly Over Belarus Amid NATO Troop Buildup on Borders

Following a request by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko for Russian support, amid rising tensions between Minsk and both the European Union and NATO, Russia deployed its largest and longest ranged combat aircraft the Tu-160 for exercises over Belarusian airspace. The bombers were escorted by Belarusian Air Force Su-30SM fighter jets, which are the heaviest combat jets built for air-to-air operations in all of Europe have been in service since 2019. President Lukashenko stated on November 11th regarding plans for joint combat patrols along both Belarusian and Russian borders: "As we have agreed, from Moscow to Gomel along the southern border of Belarus, then along the western border to Postavy in the Vitebsk Region and flying back to Moscow from Postavy through Orsha. This ring around the Baltic states, Poland and Ukraine must be monitored by Russian and Belarusian servicemen… We have agreed with Russia on that. There is no time for jokes. The situation is very serious there. The most serious thing is that they have departed from the accords. We do not know what they want.” He concluded that “the Russians and Belarusians must jointly control this situation."

November 11th marked the first deployment of Russian strategic bombers to Belarus, with President Lukashenko commenting: "We must constantly monitor the situation on the border. Let them scream and cry. Yes, these are bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons. But we have no other way out. We must see what they are doing outside.” The deployment comes as Russia and Belarus have increasingly integrated their armed forces, amid growing references to a “Union State of Russia and Belarus.” As Minsk comes under increasing Western pressure, both from Western backed riots and protests in 2020 and from growing Western economic sanctions since, further integration with Russia has been seen as a necessary step to bolster security against the Western Bloc. Poland and other western countries meanwhile have accused Belarus of weaponising the flow of Middle Eastern migrants into Europe to undermine EU security. 

The Russian Defence Ministry released footage of Tu-160s flying over Belarus on November 12th, which itself followed a flight on November 10th by Tu-22M3 bombers over Belarus that sent a similar show of force. Both the Tu-160 and the Tu-22M are modern supersonic aircraft capable of comfortably engaging any target in Europe without leaving Russian airspace due to the extreme range of their radar evading standoff missiles. Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy stated regarding the deployment that flights were carried out in response to the recent developments on the Union State's borders - namely growing military buildup by both Poland and Ukraine on Belarus’ borders. "People who see it [as a provocative act] should remember that it is a reaction to a massive buildup on the Poland-Belarus border. We have our obligations as part of the Russia-Belarus union and within the CSTO. So if there is a military buildup on the Belarus border, we have to react,” he said. Belarus remains Russia’s only close defence partner in Europe, and the possibility of a full merger of the two states to make Belarus and autonomous region of Russia has been increasingly raised over the past year.