Russia and Belarus is conducting exercises to test the use of tactical nuclear weapons.
According to Moscow's statement, the first stage of the exercises, held last month, involved the use of Kinzhal and Iskander missiles. According to geolocation confirmed by Reuters, the exercises took place near Akhtubinsk in southern Russia, the agency reports.
Recall that tactical nuclear weapons are intended for use on the battlefield, unlike strategic weapons, which are designed to launch missiles over vast distances.
At the same time, the destructive power of tactical nuclear weapons, although inferior to the power of strategic ones, is comparable to the power of the bombs dropped in 1945 on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
According to estimates by experts from the Federation of American Scientists in March of this year, the United States has about 200 non-strategic nuclear warheads, half of which are located at bases in Europe. Russia has about 1,558 of them.
Warheads can be delivered in various ways, including – dropped as bombs or mounted on rockets.
Moscow says exercises like those being conducted today are – common practice, but that the need for them is caused by hostile, according to the Kremlin, actions of the United States and its European allies. Last month, Russian officials said Moscow hoped the exercise would cool hotheads. in Western capitals.
The announcement came after French President Emmanuel Macron raised the possibility of sending European troops to Ukraine and British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said Kyiv was free to use Western-supplied weapons to attacks on targets on Russian territory.
Western nuclear experts believe Russia is sending a signal aimed at keeping NATO from getting deeper involved in the military action in Ukraine.
Experts state that the purpose of using such weapons – not in seizing territory, since after its use only a radioactive wasteland will remain. Rather, some experts argue, Russia could use it if its troops retreat while facing a large-scale defeat.
In a report released in January for the International Institute for Strategic Studies, former Pentagon and NATO official William Alberque said that Russia may be considering the possibility of using non-strategic nuclear weapons (NSNW) to “sober up” The West and force it to resolve the conflict on Moscow’s terms, hoping that by responding, the United States will not want to cross the nuclear threshold. Last week, Vladimir Putin said that Russia could achieve victory in Ukraine without resorting to nuclear weapons.
As experts explain, preparations for the launch would have been visible from Western military intelligence satellites.
< br /> At the same time, incoming missiles with tactical nuclear warheads are indistinguishable in appearance from the types of missiles with conventional warheads that Russia has been firing at Ukraine for more than two years. However, a real nuclear strike will be clearly identified by the scale of destruction, seismic shock and radiation release.
Prepared by: Sergey Daga