Putin orders nuclear weapons drills in response to Western "threats"

The Ministry of Defence of Russia has announced that it will "soon" conduct exercises involving the use of non-strategic nuclear weapons on the orders of Russian ruler Vladimir Putin.

Source: Russian Defence Ministry on Telegram

Quote: "By order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, to increase the readiness of non-strategic nuclear forces to perform combat tasks, the General Staff has begun preparations for conducting exercises in the near future with missile units of the Southern Military District involving aircraft, as well as forces of the Navy."

Details: The Russian military has announced that during the exercises, a complex of measures will be carried out for practical training on the preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons. 

Additionally, Russian military personnel claim that the exercises are supposedly necessary to respond to "provocative statements and threats from certain Western officials directed at the Russian Federation".

Background:

• On 13 March, Russian leader Vladimir Putin warned the West that Russia is technically prepared for a nuclear war and that should the US send troops to Ukraine, it would be regarded as a considerable escalation of the war.
• On 10 March, the New York Times noted that the United States had been preparing a "non-nuclear" response in late 2022 if Russia used nuclear weapons against Ukraine. CNN also reported that at the end of 2022, the United States began to rigorously prepare for the possibility that Russia could launch a nuclear strike against Ukraine.
• On 29 February, Putin addressed Russia’s Federal Assembly, speaking about, among other things, the "full readiness" of nuclear forces and warning of the consequences if NATO were to deploy troops to Ukraine.

Support UP or become our patron!