Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Armed Forces to “shortly” carry out maneuvers with tactical nuclear weapons due to “threats” from the West, as reported this Monday by the Russian Ministry of Defense.
“During the exercises, a series of activities will be carried out (…) for the preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons,” the military statement said.
These missile maneuvers, in which both aviation and the Navy will participate, will be carried out by the forces of the Southern Military District, which borders Ukraine.
In addition, the note adds, the exercises seek to “improve the level of preparation of non-strategic nuclear forces when carrying out combat missions.”
A response to Macron’s statements
The Russian Army intends to “unconditionally guarantee the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Russian State in response to provocative statements and threats made by certain Western leaders against the Russian Federation.”
In this regard, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, assured this Monday in his daily telephone press conference that the exercises are a response to the statements of the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and other senior British officials.
“They talked about the willingness and even intention to send military contingents to Ukraine, that is, to put NATO soldiers against the Russian military. That is a new spiral of escalation of tension. “It is unprecedented and demands special attention and special measures,” he said.
In statements to “The Economist”, Macron again insisted a few days ago that he does not rule out sending NATO troops to Ukrainian territory.
Maneuvers on the eve of Putin’s new inauguration
Already last February, in response to alleged NATO plans to deploy troops in Ukraine, Putin highlighted that Russian strategic nuclear forces are “in full combat readiness.”
Last year, Russia revoked its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), although it maintains the moratorium in force as long as the US does not carry out tests of this type.
Several senior Russian officials have suggested the possible use of tactical nuclear weapons on Ukrainian territory, while opposing the possible placement of such weapons by the US in the United Kingdom.
In addition, Putin approved at the time the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus , a country from whose territory Russian troops entered Ukraine in the first days of the current war.
These maneuvers took place on the eve of Putin’s inauguration for a fifth term in the Kremlin, who has increased spending in the last decade on the modernization of the Russian nuclear triad – intercontinental missiles, atomic submarines and strategic aviation – to maintain parity. with the US.
BY: TTU
