Russia will simulate the use of tactical nuclear weapons in military exercises near Ukraine / Article

In response to alleged threats from France, Great Britain and the United States, Russia announced on Monday that it will organize exercises with the use of tactical nuclear weapons near Ukraine.

The exercise was ordered by Russia’s authoritarian leader Vladimir Putin and will take place “in the near future”. The exercise will involve both air and naval forces and will use missiles.

Until now, Russia has regularly organized military exercises for the use of strategic nuclear weapons. Now the aggressor country will also train for the use of these less powerful nuclear weapons.

Tactical nuclear weapons have relatively small nuclear warheads and their delivery systems – they are intended for use on the battlefield or for limited impact without causing very wide spread of radioactive fallout.

The Russian Defense Ministry’s announcement of the new drills followed French President Emmanuel Macron saying he refused to rule out the possibility of French troops being deployed in Ukraine if Kiev requested it.

On the other hand, Great Britain has just announced that Ukraine has the right to use British-provided weapons for strikes inside Russia. British support for Ukraine is significant – three billion pounds is planned for this year and next.

The US has already called the drills announced by Russia an example of irresponsible rhetoric, but noted that so far no changes have been observed in the strategic deployment of Russian forces.

Andriy Yusov, representative of the Main Intelligence Agency of Ukraine, believes similarly. He stated that, for the time being, the Ukrainian side has not observed anything new, except for the so-called informative effect. In Russia, both officials of various levels, bloggers and others influencers Ukraine has long been threatened with the use of nuclear weapons.

Yusov, the representative of the Main Intelligence Agency of Ukraine, said that the necessary information about what is happening in Russia is currently being gathered, both the Ukrainian special services and the whole “free world” are working on it.

“Nuclear blackmail is a stable practice of Putin’s regime. There are no epoch-making news here,” Yusov said on Monday.

But bad news comes every day from the regions bordering Russia. Not a day goes by when Russia doesn’t attack with missiles, drones, guided bombs, mortars or artillery.

Ukraine’s energy infrastructure is being purposefully destroyed. The Sumy region is also located on the very border with Russia.

“Thanks to the titanic work of our energy workers, the power supply was restored yesterday at 2:30 p.m., but after half an hour, guided aerial bombs were launched from the planes over the populated areas. Five guided aerial bombs were launched over the city of Bilopil – as well as over the energy infrastructure, as a result of which the city was completely left without electricity ,” said Volodymyrs Bicaks, deputy head of the Sumu District Council.

As a result of the attack, approximately 20 thousand consumers were left without electricity again. However, the responsible services are working to ensure that people have access to both communal and medical services, that the so-called “Invulnerability Points” work, and that there are shelters to hide in during attacks.

Evacuation of people from the most severely damaged villages in the area has been taking place for a long time in the Sumu region. It is not a one-time event, but regular assistance is given to people who want to leave.

But there are also those who go back. As Bicak, the representative of the local district council, said, in general there is no panic, even though the aggressor country is very close to them.

“Of course, there is migration. For example, Great Pisarivka, where about a hundred guided aerial bombs were dropped and people started to return to their farms a week after they left. Our people are unbreakable. As they say, they do everything with their own hands and return home. It’s the same with the city of Sumatra. Of course, those who want to should go out, so as not to create a panic, but those who don’t should think about what else they can do to help our guards at the time of escalation,” said the official.

Ukrainians also believe that Russia currently does not have sufficient resources to capture Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, and Sumy, which is adjacent to Kharkiv Oblast.