2024-05-07 00:45:01
Russia has threatened to strike British military installations and said it would carry out maneuvers simulating the use of nuclear weapons on the battlefield, amid a sharp escalation in tensions following statements by senior Western officials over their possible deeper involvement in the war in Ukraine.
After summoning the British ambassador to the Foreign Office, Moscow warned that Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory with weapons supplied by the United Kingdom might lead to reprisals once morest British military installations and equipment on Ukrainian territory or elsewhere.
These statements came on the eve of… Inauguration of Russian President Vladimir Putin For a fifth term, the week when Moscow celebrates Victory Day on Thursday, its most important holiday. The defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.
The Defense Ministry said in a statement that the exercises were in response to “provocative statements and threats by some Western officials once morest the Russian Federation.”
It was the first time Russia publicly announced exercises involving tactical nuclear weapons, although its strategic nuclear forces regularly conduct exercises.
Include Tactical nuclear weaponsaerial bombs, short-range missile warheads, and artillery munitions intended for use on the battlefield.
These weapons are less powerful than strategic weapons, represented by the enormous warheads they arm. Intercontinental ballistic missiles Its goal is to destroy entire cities.
United Nations spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric expressed concern that different parties have recently raised issues related to nuclear weapons.
“Current nuclear risks have reached an alarming level… All actions that might lead to miscalculations and escalation leading to catastrophic consequences must be avoided,” Dujarric said.
Russia’s announcement was a warning to Russia’s Western allies, who are becoming more involved in the two-year-old war as they have become more powerful. Kremlin The advantage in the battle at a time when Ukraine suffers from a shortage of manpower and weapons.
Some of Ukraine’s Western allies had already expressed fears that the conflict might spread beyond Ukraine and turn into a war between NATO and Russia.
French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated last week that he was not ruling out sending troops to Ukraine, and British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said kyiv’s forces might use long-range British weapons to strike targets in Russia.
Some other NATO countries that supply weapons to kyiv have rejected this possibility.
The Kremlin called the statements dangerous and exacerbating tensions between Russia and NATO.
The war actually caused significant tensions in relations between Moscow and the West.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that the statements Macron Recent and other statements by British and American officials motivated the nuclear exercise.
Peskov said: “This is a new wave of escalation,” referring to the Kremlin’s provocative statements.
He added: “This is unprecedented and requires special attention and measures.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry also summoned the French and British ambassadors to Moscow.
For his part, Tobias Billstrom, Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs, declared that the nuclear exercises “contribute to increasing tensions”.
Swedish news agency TT quoted Bellström as saying: “In light of the current security situation, Russia’s practices can be considered particularly irresponsible and reckless. »
In turn, Dmitry Medvedev, vice-president of the Russian National Security Council, chaired by Putin, declared, in his usually harsh style, that the statements of Macron and Cameron risked pushing the nuclear world towards a “global catastrophe” .
This was not the first time that European military support for Ukraine prompted the deployment of a nuclear military force.
* Previous threats
In March 2023, following Britain’s decision to supply armor-piercing missiles containing depleted uranium to Ukraine, Putin announced his intention to deploy tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of neighboring Belarus. Ukraine.
The ministry said the exercises aim to “increase the readiness of non-strategic nuclear forces to carry out combat missions” and will be conducted on Putin’s orders.
It was reported that the maneuvers would involve missile units from the Southern Military District, in addition to the air and naval forces.
The Russian announcement sparked limited reactions in… UkraineAndrei Yusov, a spokesman for the Military Intelligence Agency, said on national television: “Nuclear blackmail is a common practice for the Putin regime and does not represent major news. »
Western officials have accused Russia of threatening a wider war through provocative actions.
NATO countries said last week they were deeply concerned regarding a campaign of hybrid activities on the military alliance’s territory and accused Moscow of being behind it, saying it posed a threat to Security.
Peskov rejected the allegations, calling them “new baseless accusations once morest our country.”
In this context, Germany announced on Monday the recall of its ambassador to Russia for one-week consultations in Berlin following an alleged cyberhacking of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s party.
In addition, two Ukrainian drones targeted two vehicles in the Russian region of Belgorod on Monday, killing 6 people and injuring 35 others, including two children, according to local authorities.
The area has been bombarded by kyiv forces in recent months.
Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said one of the vehicles was a minibus carrying farm workers.
With the Ukrainian army largely besieged on the 1,000-kilometer front line by a lack of troops and ammunition following more than two years of fighting, it has used its long-range firepower to strike targets at deepest part of Russia.
And through what has become war of attrition To a large extent, Russia has also relied heavily on long-range missiles, artillery and drones to inflict damage on Ukraine.
Kremlin forces continued their bombing of the power grid in Ukraine, as a nighttime attack by a Russian drone targeted energy infrastructure in the Sumy region of northern Ukraine.
Regional authorities said several towns and villages in the region, including Sumy, were without power.
Russia attacked Ukrainian targets last night with 13 Shahed drones, 12 of which were intercepted in Sumy, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.
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