The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington D.C.-based think tank, in its latest analysis of the conflict in Ukraine on Tuesday weighed in on Lukashenko's move to conduct sudden checks on the readiness of his military to deploy tactical nuclear weapons.

Lukashenko is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Belarus, a former Soviet Union republic, has maintained strong relations with Russia since the Russian leader launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In January, the Belarusian president announced that Russian nuclear weapons, controlled by Moscow, had arrived in Belarus. Lukashenko said last month that "several dozen" tactical nuclear weapons from Russia had been deployed in his country. The drills will involve those weapons.