Russia to Hold Drills on Tactical Nuclear Weapons in New Tensions With West

[Omaha Steve]

Source: NYT

Russian officials claimed the order was in response to comments from the West about the possibility of more direct Western involvement in the war in Ukraine.

By Anton Troianovski
Reporting from Berlin

May 6, 2024
Updated 7:27 a.m. ET

Russia said on Monday that it would hold military exercises with troops based near Ukraine to practice for the possible use of battlefield nuclear weapons, ratcheting up tensions with the West after two European leaders raised the prospect of more direct Western intervention in the war.

Such weapons, often referred to as “tactical,” are designed for battlefield use and have smaller warheads than the “strategic” nuclear weapons meant to target cities. Russia’s Defense Ministry said that President Vladimir V. Putin had ordered an exercise for missile, aviation and naval personnel to “increase the readiness of nonstrategic nuclear forces to carry out combat missions.”

Russian officials claimed the order was in response to comments from the West about the possibility of more direct Western involvement in the war in Ukraine. And it came at the start of a week of extensive publicity for the Russian leader, with his inauguration scheduled for Tuesday, followed on Thursday by the annual Victory Day celebration, which commemorates the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.

The announcement of the exercise was Russia’s most explicit warning in its more than two-year invasion of Ukraine that it could use tactical nuclear weapons there.


Russian intercontinental ballistic missile launchers parading through Moscow during Victory Day celebrations in 2022.Credit...Alexander Nemenov/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/06/world/europe/russia-tactical-nuclear-weapons-drills.html

[Chainfire]

1. More blackmail.

Putin better be careful lest someone take him seriously and decide to go all preemptive.

[Emrys]

2. Given the Russian forces' tendency for friendly fire, what could possibly go wrong? n/t

[padah513]

3. What I don't get is why Putin thinks they would survive a nuclear exchange.

It's called MAD for a reason.

[orangecrush]

4. Hold all the drills you want

First one they pop, it's full on.

[LudwigPastorius]

5. Unlikely.

Even if Putin makes a strategic strike on Kyiv, that would only mean a NATO-led conventional retaliation. It would be the thorough elimination of all Russian troops in Ukraine and ships in the Black Sea, but we won't be launching our strategic arsenal against Moscow if they detonate a 20 kiloton battlefield nuke in the east.

[Happy Hoosier]

7. If Putin used a nuke to wipe out Kyiv....

I can;t imagine it doesn't mean war. No way NATO will tolerate the use of a nuclear weapon on an European city.

Might not mean the balloon goes up, but it probably means NATO troops in Ukraine. If it doesn;t, we might as well fold up our tents and learn Russian now.

[Xolodno]

10. Oh yes they will.

If its a one kiloton bomb on military units, lots of verbal outrage, condemnation, etc. But in the end, no one cares. NATO does not want this to escalate and one tactical nuke will signal to them things are getting out of hand. Don't judge the bravado here in the USA as being the same in Europe, that's a path they don't want to go down. In a nuke exchange we will get vaporized somewhere between 15-25 minutes. In Europe, it would be over before anyone knew what happened, their citizens do not want this.

[orangecrush]

9. I agree with your point

But as I'm sure you know, that kind of thing can spin out of control quickly.

[Xolodno]

11. Indeed it can spin out of control and way too fast.

Remarks by Cameron and Macron were not helpful. Putin is "communicating" via a drill to tone it back. This proxy war is a much more dangerous one than of Korea and Vietnam.

[oasis]

6. Make your play Pootie Poot

We got something for your raggedy ass.

[tonekat]

8. Putin is getting desperate

The flop sweat is seeping out.

[onetexan]

12. Yup, more sabre rattling to soothe his ego