At the Plesetsk State Test Cosmodrome, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko presided over the second stage of combined nuclear force exercises on May 21. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Russian forces delivered specialized nuclear munitions directly into Belarusian territory. The coordinated drills featured the launch of a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile, a Zircon hypersonic glide vehicle fired from the Barents Sea, and an Iskander-M deployment from the Kapustin Yar Training Ground. Putin confirmed that Russia and Belarus intend to execute the biennial "Union Shield" exercises in 2027, consolidating absolute operational control over the Belarusian military apparatus and projecting a modernized, unassailable nuclear deterrent across the European fracture zone.