What NATO's drone exercise at Charing Cross revealed on 22 May 2026
A look back at a drone-warfare exercise on a disused London Underground platform and a Belarus-Russia nuclear training announcement days earlier.
What did NATO's preparations for a possible conflict with Russia look like on 22 May 2026? In London, they involved an unused platform at Charing Cross tube station.
On that date, NATO conducted Operation Arcade Strike, an exercise in drone warfare, at the disused platform of the London Underground station. The exercise was part of efforts to be prepared for potential conflict with Russia.
Belarus and Russia train on nuclear weapons
A few days earlier, on 18 May 2026, the Belarusian defence ministry announced that its military had begun joint training exercises with Russia on nuclear weapons combat.
The two reports, from 18 May and 22 May 2026, show military activity on both sides of the divide in the same week: a drone exercise in an underground London setting, and joint nuclear-weapons training announced by Minsk.
