“Response to provocations”
Russians begin nuclear weapons exercises near Ukraine
May 21, 2024, 8:12 p.m
Russia is rattling its nuclear saber again. The exercises had already been announced, and Moscow is now preparing launch systems and a nuclear warhead on the border with Ukraine. Putin is reacting to comments from France and Great Britain.
Russia has announced the start of a nuclear weapons exercise near Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry said the exercise was a “response to provocative statements and threats from certain Western representatives.” The “readiness” of “non-strategic nuclear weapons” will be tested to ensure the “territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Russian state.”
The maneuver is taking place in the Southern Military District, the Moscow ministry continued. This district borders Ukraine and includes parts of the neighboring country that Moscow has declared annexed. The Defense Ministry released footage showing trucks bringing missiles to a field. It was also possible to see how launch systems were being prepared in the field. Soldiers also put a fighter plane on standby to transport a nuclear warhead
The ministry also stated that this was the “first phase” of the exercises, during which the loading of launchers, travel to specific launch sites and the loading of aircraft with hypersonic Kinschal missiles would be practiced. The Russian Southern Military District is the command center for the offensive in Ukraine. The headquarters is in Rostov-on-Don, 60 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the military exercises at the beginning of May after a series of Western statements caused anger in Moscow. Russian officials pointed to statements by French President Emmanuel Macron that NATO countries should not rule out sending troops to Ukraine. They also referred to British Foreign Secretary David Cameron’s remark that Kiev had the right to fire Western missiles into Russian territory.
Russia announced an exercise by its tactical nuclear forces on Monday. It was the first time that Russia publicly announced such an exercise, although its strategic nuclear forces regularly schedule maneuvers. Tactical nuclear weapons have a lower yield than the massive warheads that equip intercontinental ballistic missiles. Tactical nuclear weapons intended for use on the battlefield include short-range missile warheads and artillery ammunition.
Nuclear weapons exercise as a warning to the West
The announcement appeared to be a warning to Ukraine’s Western allies not to become more involved in the war that has been going on for more than two years. French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated last week that he was not ruling out sending troops to Ukraine. British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said Ukrainian forces could use longer-range British missiles to attack targets in Russia. The Kremlin described the statements as dangerous.
On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that such statements triggered the exercises. “This is a new level of escalation.” Such unprecedented statements required special measures. The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the ambassadors of Great Britain and France. If Ukraine attacks Russian territory with British weapons, British military installations and equipment on Ukrainian territory and elsewhere could be attacked, the ministry subsequently threatened. The British ambassador should “consider the inevitable catastrophic consequences of such hostile steps by London.”
The deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, who is known for his drastic threats, warned that Macron and Cameron were steering the nuclear-armed world towards catastrophe with such statements. Last year, Russia responded to Western support for Ukraine with nuclear saber rattling. After Britain announced that it would supply Ukraine with depleted uranium armor-piercing shells, Putin said in March 2023 that he intended to deploy tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Ukraine’s neighbor Belarus.