Russia announced on Monday that it would conduct military exercises with troops based near Ukraine to train for the possible use of nuclear weapons on the battlefield, and two European leaders said they would push the West more directly into war. Tensions with the West gradually escalated after China raised the possibility of further intervention.
Such weapons, often called “tactical”, are designed for use on the battlefield and have smaller warheads than “strategic” nuclear weapons that target cities. Russia's Ministry of Defense announced that President Vladimir V. Putin ordered training for missile, aviation and naval personnel to “increase the readiness of non-strategic nuclear forces to carry out combat missions.”
Russian officials claimed the order was in response to Western comments about the possibility of Western countries becoming more directly involved in the Ukraine war. And that's with the inauguration scheduled for Tuesday and the annual Victory Day celebrations, which commemorate the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, scheduled for Thursday, giving the Russian leader much publicity. It took place at the beginning of the week.
The announcement of the exercise was Russia's clearest warning in more than two years of its invasion of Ukraine that tactical nuclear weapons could be used.
Western officials have long worried that Russia could deploy such weapons, especially if faced with a serious setback on the battlefield. But while Putin regularly reminds the world of Russia's vast nuclear arsenal as a way to check Western military aid to Ukraine, he denied ever considering it, as recently as March. .
The Defense Ministry said the exercise was being held “to counter provocative statements and threats of individual Western officials against the Russian Federation and to unconditionally ensure the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Russian state.”
The exercise will involve troops from the Southern Military District, an area that covers Russian-occupied Ukraine and part of the Russian-Ukrainian border area, the Ministry of Defense said. He said the exercise would take place in the “near future.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri S. Peskov said the Western “threats” in question included a recent interview with French President Emmanuel Macron published in The Economist magazine, in which he said: He said he has repeatedly refused to rule out sending ground troops to Ukraine.
Peskov also referred to comments made last week by Britain's top diplomat David Cameron, who said Ukraine was free to use British weapons to attack inside Russia. To avoid further involvement in the war.
“This is a completely new escalation of tensions, an unprecedented situation,” Peskov told reporters on Monday. “And of course, it requires special care and special measures.”
Pavel Podvig, a Russian nuclear forces researcher, said in an interview that Russia has conducted such exercises before, but rarely made them public. But this time, the goal is to send a loud message.
“This is a reaction to certain statements, a signal that Russia has nuclear weapons,” Podvig said in a telephone interview.
Unlike strategic nuclear weapons, which are always ready for combat, non-strategic nuclear weapons are stored in warehouses away from the bombers, missiles and ships that carry them, Podvig said. During the exercise, Russian military formations will likely practice how to deploy, he said. But using them in the context of the Ukraine war makes little sense, Podvig added.
“This weapon system exists to send a signal,” he said.
Putin has not publicly commented on the drill. He is scheduled to be sworn in for his fifth term as president on Tuesday.
Ivan Necheplenko Contributed reporting from Batumi, Georgia.
