Putin orders nuclear exercises in response to Western “threats”

Less than 24 hours before taking office for his fifth term as president of Russia, Putin ordered nuclear exercises and, according to the Kremlin, intends to test the readiness of non-strategic nuclear forces to carry out combat missions, such as preparation and deployment practices.

“During the exercises, a set of measures will be carried out to practice the issues of preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons”announced the Ministry of Defense, in a statement cited by AFP, this Monday.

Russia will possess the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons in the world and these tests, according to Russian Defense, aim to guarantee the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the State, “in response to provocative statements and threats by certain Western officials against the Russian Federation”.These weapons, also called tactical nuclear weapons, are designed for battlefield use and can be delivered by missiles.

To the media, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov cited comments by the French president about the possible sending of soldiers to Ukraine, as well as statements by representatives of the British and United States Senate, to justify the decision. The military and other special services are investigating reports about the deployment of French foreign legion soldiers to Ukraine, Peskov added.

These exercises will involve the Air Force, the Navy and forces from the Southern Military District, which are located very close to Ukraine and cover regions that Moscow annexed. The date and place, however, were not mentioned.

Remember that last October Russia announced that Putin had supervised ballistic missile launches during military maneuvers intended to simulate a “massive nuclear attack” on Moscow.

Since the conflict in Ukraine began, in fact, Putin has been talking about the possible use of nuclear weapons and Russia has deployed tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

Russian nuclear doctrine provides for a “strictly defensive” use of atomic weapons, in the case of an attack on the country with weapons of mass destruction or in the case of aggression with conventional weapons “that threaten the very existence of the State”.