Russia Announces Nuclear Drills, Blames 'Provocative' Western Remarks
Russia on Monday said it would soon hold military exercises that included practice for the preparation and deployment of tactical nuclear weapons, blaming 'provocative statements and threats of certain Western officials.'...
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Facts
- Russia on Monday said it would soon hold military exercises that included practice for the preparation and deployment of tactical nuclear weapons, blaming 'provocative statements and threats of certain Western officials.'1
- Though Russia's nuclear forces regularly hold exercises with such weapons — which are intended for battlefield use and are not as powerful as conventional nuclear warheads — it was the first time that Russia publicly announced plans to hold such drills.2
- The move comes after French Pres. Emmanuel Macron and British Foreign Minister David Cameron made remarks late last week that the Kremlin condemned as 'dangerous' and described as an escalation of the conflict with Ukraine.3
- Macron once again did not rule out sending Western ground troops to Ukraine. Cameron, for his part, said that Ukraine was able to use British-provided weapons to fire into Russian territory.3
- Commenting further on the statement of the Russian Defense Ministry, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: '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.'4
- On Monday, Russia's Foreign Ministry further announced that it had summoned British Ambassador Nigel Casey as well as French Foreign Minister Pierre Levy to Moscow for separate meetings. Neither Casey nor Levy made any comments after their meetings concluded.5
Sources: 1Al Jazeera, 2ABC News, 3Associated Press, 4TASS (a) and 5TASS (b).
Narratives
- Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by ABC News. Russia is once again threatening the West with nuclear weapons. Putin did a similar thing when Britain said it would provide Ukraine with armor-piercing shells containing depleted uranium. This is the Kremlin's playbook for seeking to scare its enemies into obsequience.
- Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by TASS. Despite Russia's warnings, the West continues to escalate the conflict by suggesting that NATO troops will be stationed in Ukraine, and by allowing it to strike in Russian territory — hundreds of miles from where the conflict is taking place. Russia had no choice but to respond to these Western provocations.
