The announcement of tactical nuclear forces exercises, the first public one, “in the near future”, in an unspecified location in Russia, precedes by a few hours the inauguration of Vladimir Putin for the fifth term as President, two days before of Victory which celebrates the anniversary of the defeat of the Nazi forces in 1945. The exercises, on instructions from Putin to the Ministry of Defense, will be dedicated “to the preparations and deployment” of non-strategic nuclear forces “to operate combat missions” and have the objective is to “guarantee the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Russian state”, in response to “provocative statements and threats against Russia by certain Western personalities”, the Ministry of Defense announced.
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«Deploying NATO soldiers to confront Russian soldiers in the escalation of tensions is an unprecedented step. And it requires attention and special measures”, explained the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, citing the recent statements of some Western leaders, including Emmanuel Macron, but also US and UK personalities, explaining that he “has nothing to add”. The Ministry of Defense specified that missile units from the Southern Military District (North Caucasus), supported by the air force and the navy, will take part in the exercises. Tactical nuclear weapons, in which Russia has invested heavily in recent years, are to be used on the battlefield, unlike strategic ones, intended to reach objectives far from the front.
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Meanwhile, in view of Putin’s inauguration in the Kremlin tomorrow – re-elected in March with 87.5% of the votes – the EU and its member states “are still discussing the approach” to be taken in response to the invitation from part of the Russian president to participate in the ceremony and «a final decision has not yet been taken, said the EU spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Peter Stano, during the press briefing in Brussels, specifying that the High Representative Josep Borrell is against the participation of the EU tomorrow” at the ceremony. «I confirm that an official invitation has been sent from the Kremlin – he continues – to the EU member states and to the EU delegation in Moscow. We are discussing with our member states the form of our response”, because “we always aim to have a coordinated approach, when possible, in foreign policy”, he concluded.
