On Putin's orders, Russia announces military maneuvers with nuclear weapons against “Western threats” | world

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced today, Monday (6), that it will include the use of tactical nuclear weapons in military exercises that will be held soon, by order of the country’s President Vladimir Putin.

The ministry said in a statement that this action comes in response to “provocative speeches and threats from some Western authorities against the Russian Federation.”

The statement did not mention Western authorities by name, but Russia stated on several occasions that French President Emmanuel Macron's statements regarding possible interference in Ukraine were very dangerous.

At the same time that Macron repeatedly stated that he did not rule out sending troops to Ukraine, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said that Kiev's forces would be able to use British long-range weapons to strike targets on Russian territory.

The exercises will include exercises to prepare for the use of non-strategic nuclear weapons, according to the defense. The teams of the Southern Military District and naval detachments will be mobilized.

The tactical nuclear arsenal has less destructive power compared to nuclear warheads equipped with intercontinental ballistic missiles, designed to destroy entire cities. It includes bombs dropped from aircraft and warheads of short-range missiles.

Russia claims that the United States and its allies in Europe are pushing the world to the brink of confrontation between nuclear powers by supporting Ukraine with weapons worth tens of millions of dollars in the standoff against Moscow's forces since the start of Russia's invasion of the country in February 2022.

Countries with active nuclear weapons in their arsenal usually conduct routine inspections, but they rarely refer to these exercises as a response to specific threats.