Russia said Monday that because of statements made by UK and French officials, its military has begun planning for drills simulating the use of tactical nuclear weapons near Ukraine. A Kremlin statement said the exercises are planned "in response to provocative statements and threats by certain Western officials against the Russian Federation," per Politico Europe. A Ukrainian military spokesman responded to the announcement by calling it "nuclear blackmail, and a NATO spokesperson said the plan is "dangerous and irresponsible," the BBC reports.
French President Emmanuel Macron had declined last week to rule out sending troops to help Ukraine, if requested by its government, in the fight against Russia's invasion. And UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said Ukraine has the right to use British weapons to strike in Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said those statements represent a "completely new round of escalation of tension." Other Russian officials said the UK had provided assurances that the long-range missiles delivered to Ukraine would not be used in Russian territory; Cameron's statement means the UK now is a "party to the conflict," they said.
Russia summoned the French and UK ambassadors in Moscow on Monday. The drills will begin "in the near future," officials said, and will involve air and naval forces and missile formations. Tactical nuclear weapons are small nuclear warheads designed to destroy targets without causing radioactive fallout over a broad area, per the BBC. The TASS news agency said the exercise was ordered by President Vladimir Putin, who will be inaugurated on Tuesday for another six-year term, per the AP. (More Russia-Ukraine war stories.)
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