Putin directs the practice of tactical nuclear weapons to discourage the West : Russia says the US and its European allies are pushing the world to the brink of fight between nuclear powers

Moscow:As part of a military drill, Russia announced on Monday that it would practice deploying tactical nuclear weapons in response to threats it claimed came from the United States, France, and Britain.

Russia has warned of growing nuclear hazards ever since it invaded Ukraine in 2022. The US believes it must heed these warnings seriously, even though US officials claim they have not observed any shift in Russia’s nuclear posture.

Russia claims that by arming Ukraine with tens of billions of dollars’ worth of weaponry, some of which are being used against Russian territory, the US and its European allies are bringing the world to the verge of a nuclear conflict between nuclear powers.

Putin directs the practice of tactical nuclear weapons to discourage the West

The Russian Ministry of Defense said that it will conduct military exercises that would involve training for the deployment and setup of non-strategic nuclear weapons. It said that President Vladimir Putin had given the order for the drills.

“During the exercise, a set of measures will be carried out to practise the issues of preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons,” the ministry said.

According to the defense ministry, participation will come from the navy, aircraft, and missile units in the Southern Military District.

It stated that the exercise is being conducted “in response to provocative statements and threats by certain Western officials against the Russian Federation” with the goal of safeguarding Russia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

With about 10,600 of the 12,100 nuclear weapons in the world, the United States and Russia are by far the two largest nuclear powers in the world. China is the third-largest nuclear weaponry owner, behind the United Kingdom and France.

Federation of American Scientists

The Federation of American Scientists estimates that Russia possesses 1,558 non-strategic nuclear warheads, while precise numbers for these weapons are unknown because of a lack of transparency.

The Federation of American Scientists estimates that Russia possesses 1,558 non-strategic nuclear warheads, while precise numbers for these weapons are unknown because of a lack of transparency.

Since the United States launched the first atomic bomb attacks on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, no other nation has used nuclear weapons in a war.

Large nuclear nations periodically test their arsenals, but they hardly ever openly associate these drills with particular threats, unlike Russia.

Nuclear risks

President of the United States Joe Biden stated last year that he did not believe there was a serious chance that Russia would use nuclear weapons, but CNN revealed that senior American officials have prepared for the possibility of a Russian nuclear strike against Ukraine in 2022.

Although the Kremlin has consistently stated that it would consider breaking the nuclear taboo if Russia’s existence was threatened, some Western and Ukrainian officials have claimed that Russia is bluffing about nuclear weapons to terrify the West.

A representative for Ukrainian military intelligence, Andriy Yusov, stated, “We do not see anything new here.” “Nuclear blackmail is a constant practice of Putin’s regime.”

The defense ministry, headed by Sergei Shoigu, a staunch supporter of Vladimir Putin, did not name the exact Western officials in its statement.

According to the Kremlin, it was in response to statements made by US Senate candidate, British officials, and French President Emmanuel Macron.

While British Foreign Secretary David Cameron stated that Ukraine had a right to use the weaponry provided by London to strike targets within Russia, Macron publicly floated the notion of sending European troops to combat Russia in Ukraine.

According to Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman for the Kremlin, Western remarks regarding the deployment of NATO soldiers to Ukraine represent “a completely new round of escalation of tension – it is unprecedented, and of course it requires special attention and special measures”.

In March, Putin issued a warning to the West, claiming that few people desired a direct confrontation between Russia and the NATO military alliance, which is led by the United States, and that doing so would bring the world closer to a third World War.

War games Putin

 

With the “Steadfast Defender” exercise, which is the largest that NATO has conducted since the end of the Cold War, it is providing collective security against the Soviet Union. NATO was established in 1949. NATO has not stated if nuclear element practice will be part of it.

Fears that the United States was planning a surprise nuclear attack were raised at the highest levels of the Kremlin following a nuclear command exercise conducted by NATO in 1983.

Hardliners within Russia have urged Putin to alter the country’s nuclear policy, which outlines the circumstances under which Russia would deploy a nuclear bomb, despite Putin’s declaration last year that he saw no need for modification.

According to the doctrine, such a weapon would be deployed, in general, “when the very existence of the state is put under threat”—that is, in reaction to an attack against Russia including nuclear or other WMDs.

Berlin Wall in 1989.

Putin frames the conflict as a continuation of a centuries-old conflict between Russia and the West, which he claims humiliated Russia by expanding NATO and intruding on its historical sphere of influence following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

Ukraine and its Western allies claim the war is an attempt by a despotic regime to seize territory in the manner of the empire. While denying the possibility of sending NATO soldiers to Ukraine, Western officials have pledged to work toward the defeat of Russian forces there.

Also Read

Politics

Raebareli Lok Sabha: Rahul Gandhi to contest Lok Sabha elections