Putin assumes his fifth term with one unfinished business, victory in the war

The Russian president, Vladimir Putinordered the Armed Forces to carry out “shortly” maneuvers with tactical nuclear weapons due to “threats” from the West, as reported this Monday by the Ministry of Defense of Russia.

“During the exercises a series of activities will be carried out (…) for the preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons,” says the military statement.

These missile maneuvers, in which both the aviation and the Navy will participate, will be carried out by the forces of the Southern Military District, which borders Ukraine.

In addition, the note adds, the exercises seek to “improve the level of preparation of non-strategic nuclear forces when carrying out combat missions.”

The Russian Army intends to “unconditionally guarantee the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Russian State in response to provocative statements and threats made by certain Western leaders against the Russian Federation.”

In this regard, the spokesperson for the KremlinDmitri Peskov, assured on Monday in his daily telephone press conference that the exercises are a response to claims by French President Emmanuel Macron and other senior British officials.

“They spoke about the willingness and even intention to send military contingents to Ukraine, that is, to put the soldiers of the NATO against the Russian military. That is a new spiral of escalation of tension. “It is unprecedented and requires special attention and special measures,” said.

In statements to “The Economist”, Macron insisted again a few days ago that he does not rule out sending NATO troops to Ukrainian territory.

Several senior Russian officials have suggested the possible use of tactical nuclear weapons on Ukrainian territory, while opposing the possible deployment of such weapons by USA in the United Kingdom.

In addition, Putin approved at the time the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, a country from whose territory Russian troops entered Ukraine in the first days of the current war.

These maneuvers take place on the eve of Putin’s inauguration for a fifth term in the Kremlin, who has increased spending in the last decade on the modernization of the Russian nuclear triad – intercontinental missiles, atomic submarines and strategic aviation – to maintain parity. with USA

Last February, in response to alleged NATO plans to deploy troops to Ukraine, Putin He stressed that Russian strategic nuclear forces are “in full combat readiness.”

Last year, Russia revoked its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), although it maintains the moratorium in force as long as the US does not carry out tests of this type.