Kyiv denounces the exercises as “nuclear blackmail.”

May 6, 2024 1:39 pm CET
By Pierre Emmanuel Ngendakumana

Russia announced Monday it has started preparing for nuclear weapons exercises, accusing Western officials of making “provocative statements and threats" by deepening their support for Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Monday specifically pinned the blame on French President Emmanuel Macron and "British representatives."

"Deploying NATO soldiers to confront the Russian military in the latest escalation of tensions is an unprecedented move, and, of course, it requires special attention and special measures," Peskov said, according to Russia's TASS news agency.

Ukraine responded by denouncing the exercises.

"We do not see here anything new ... Nuclear blackmail is a constant practice of Putin's regime," Ukraine's military spy agency spokesperson Andriy Yusov told national TV.

Last week, U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron said during a trip to Kyiv that Ukraine could strike Russia with British weapons, while Macron has floated the possibility of sending Western troops to fight in Ukraine.

"We have recently witnessed an unprecedented new round of tensions initiated by the French president and the British Foreign Office. It was very dangerous rhetoric," Peskov said.

The Kremlin's nuclear saber-rattling has now kicked up a notch.

“In order to increase the readiness of non-strategic nuclear forces to carry out combat missions, the General Staff has begun preparations for conducting exercises with missile formations of the Southern Military District in the near future with the involvement of aviation, as well as the forces of the Navy," the Russian ministry of defense said in a statement on Telegram.

In comments that riled the Kremlin, Cameron said about using U.K. weapons to target Russia: "Ukraine has that right. Just as Russia is striking inside Ukraine, you can quite understand why Ukraine feels the need to make sure it's defending itself," he told Reuters.

Now Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces are sounding a warning to NATO.

“The exercise is aimed at maintaining the readiness of personnel and equipment of non-strategic nuclear weapons combat units to respond and unconditionally ensure the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Russian state in response to provocative statements and threats by certain Western officials against the Russian Federation,” the Kremlin said.