Russia and Belarus launch second stage of exercises to train troops in tactical nuclear weapons

MOSCOW — Russia and its ally Belarus on Tuesday launched a second stage of exercises aimed at training their troops in tactical nuclear weapons, part of the Kremlin's efforts to discourage the West from increasing its support for Ukraine .

Announcing the nuclear drills last month, the Russian Defense Ministry said they were in response to “provocative statements and threats by some Western officials against the Russian Federation.”

The Kremlin expressed outrage after French President Emmanuel Macron said he did not rule out deploying troops to Ukraine, and the United States and some other NATO allies allowed kyiv to use the weapons provided by them to strike targets on Russian territory.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said such exercises and maintaining combat readiness are important in light of “hostile decisions and actions” by the United States and its allies. in Europe and their “daily provocations”.

Sergei Shoigu, secretary of the Russian Security Council, said in a speech published Tuesday that the maneuvers were an appropriate response to “Western support for the Kiev regime, the active involvement of NATO troops in combat operations in Ukraine and the effective authorization granted to Kiev to launch missiles. strikes against Russian civilian installations. He added that the exercises were also part of Moscow's reaction to the strengthening of the military potential of NATO allies near Russia's borders.

During the second stage of the exercises that began on Tuesday, Russian and Belarusian troops will undergo joint training in non-strategic nuclear weapons used in combat, the Defense Ministry said. He noted that the exercise aimed to keep personnel and equipment ready to guarantee “the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of the Russia-Belarus alliance.

The first stage of last month's exercise included preparation for nuclear missions and deployment for launches, according to the Defense Ministry. The Russian army had trained separately during the initial phase of maneuvers before the joint exercises with Belarusian forces.

Last year, Russia transferred some of its tactical nuclear weapons to neighboring Belarus, which also borders Ukraine and NATO members Poland, Latvia and Lithuania. Authoritarian Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has relied on close ties with Russia and made his country a base for the war in Ukraine.

Tactical nuclear weapons include aerial bombs, short-range missile warheads, and artillery munitions and are intended for use on a battlefield. They are generally less powerful than strategic weapons – massive warheads that arm intercontinental ballistic missiles and are intended to wipe out entire cities.

Russian President Vladimir Putin noted, however, that even Russia's nuclear weapons on the battlefield are far more powerful than the two atomic bombs the United States dropped on Japan at the end of World War II.

Last week, Putin said the West was wrong to assume Russia would never use its atomic arsenal.

Putin highlighted the country's nuclear doctrine which envisages the use of nuclear weapons in the event of a threat to its sovereignty and territorial integrity. At the same time, he said he saw no current threat to Russia's sovereignty that would justify the use of nuclear weapons and stressed that Moscow did not need them to defeat Ukraine.

The Russian leader has repeatedly reminded the West of the country's nuclear power since sending troops to Ukraine in 2022.

Speaking last week, Putin warned that Russia could revise its nuclear doctrine if the situation changed. Current doctrine states that atomic weapons could be used in response to a nuclear strike or an attack with conventional forces that would threaten the “very existence” of the Russian state.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Tuesday that the latest steps taken by the United States and its allies have made a change in doctrine necessary.

“The situation tends to get even worse and the growing challenges resulting from the unacceptable escalation of actions of the United States and its NATO allies raise the question of how the fundamental documents in the field of nuclear deterrence could be more consistent with current legislation. needs,” Ryabkov said, according to Russian news agencies. He did not say how nuclear doctrine might be changed.

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