The world is getting more and more dangerous by the day.
With NATO, the EU and Russia entangled in an European conflict that keeps escalating, it is very bad news that nuclear weapons are now the talk of the day.
The Russian Federation forces have begun the ‘first stage’ of exercises to simulate preparation for the launch of tactical nuclear weapons.
Ordered by recently reelected President Vladimir Putin, the exercises are reportedly linked to what Moscow calls ‘militant statements’ by Western officials that ‘create security threats for Russia’.
Reuters reported:
“Nuclear analysts say the exercises are designed as a warning signal by Putin to deter the West from wading more deeply into the war in Ukraine. Western countries have provided weapons and intelligence to Kyiv but have refrained from sending troops.”
The Russian Defense Ministry said this first stage of the drill involves Iskander and Kinzhal missiles.
“It is aimed at ensuring that units and equipment are ready for ‘the combat use of non-strategic nuclear weapons to respond and unconditionally ensure the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Russian state in response to provocative statements and threats of individual Western officials against the Russian Federation’, the ministry said.”
The exercises are led by the Southern Military District, which lies adjacent to Ukraine and newly annexed territories.
The situation has escalated so much that Reuters feels it has to try and guess the results of such an attack – which unfortunately is not unthinkable anymore.
“In theory the use of such a weapon could deliver a stunning shock to the West without necessarily triggering a full-blown nuclear war, though the risk of triggering a cycle of escalation would be huge.”
Russia is reported to have about 1,558 non-strategic nuclear warheads.
Watch: Video released by the ministry showed missiles being transported in a convoy of military vehicles and placed in position ready for firing.
The Southern Military District has begun the first stage of an exercise involving practical training in the preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons, the Defence Ministry said.
As part of non-strategic nuclear weapons exercises, the Russian missile formations are… pic.twitter.com/xhe8Dg5qUu
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) May 21, 2024
“When Putin ordered the drills this month, Russia’s Foreign Ministry linked them to comments by France’s Macron, who floated the possibility of sending European troops to fight Moscow in Ukraine, and British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, who said Kyiv had the right to use weapons provided by London to strike targets inside Russia. It also cited the provision of long-range British, French and U.S. ATACMS missiles to Kyiv.”
Asked about the timing of the different phases of the drill, the Kremlin said that the military exercises for practicing the use of tactical (or non-strategic) nuclear weapons will be conducted ‘at the appropriate time’.
Sputnik reported:
“These drills will focus on the preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons, aimed at ensuring Russia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty in response to provocative statements and threats from certain Western officials.
President Vladimir Putin referred to the exercises involving the use of non-strategic nuclear weapons as routine work, with nothing unusual. He also mentioned that the drills would be conducted in three stages, with Belarus joining Russia in the second stage, as Belarus hosts non-strategic nuclear weapons.”
In this first stage of the exercise, the Russian missile formations are practicing such tasks as: obtaining special ammunition for the Iskander complex, equipping missiles with it and moving covertly to a position area to prepare for launch; equipping special warheads for air defense systems, including Kinzhal missiles, as well as flights to designated patrol areas.
The Chinese publication Sohu (reported by Slavyangrad), wrote about this. According to the Chinese journalists authors, ‘the Kremlin gave Britain an ultimatum, deciding to forever determine how the provocations would turn out’.
“’This is not a joke, Putin has given Great Britain an ultimatum’, write the authors of the Chinese publication. They note that the president’s actions, including ordering exercises using non-strategic nuclear forces, have led Britain to soften its rhetoric.
[…] Earlier, British Foreign Minister David Cameron said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces could attack Russian territories with British weapons. After this, the British Ambassador to Moscow, Nigel Casey, was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry.”
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