War in Ukraine: Putin orders nuclear exercises in response to Macron and “Western leaders”

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered the upcoming holding of nuclear exercises in response to comments by Western leaders, including his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, concerning the possible sending of NATO soldiers to Ukraine, according to the Kremlin.

Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022, Vladimir Putin has blown hot and cold on the possible use of nuclear weapons.

This time, the exercises announced by the Ministry of Defense should allow the Russian army to “train in the preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons”, designed for use on the battlefield and capable of being launched directly by missiles.

The ministry assured that this was in response to “threats” made by Western leaders against Russia. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov then denounced their “intention to send armed contingents to Ukraine, that is to say, to place NATO soldiers facing the Russian army.”

He pointed the finger at Emmanuel Macron, whose “very dangerous rhetoric” he criticized, as well as British and American representatives.

The French president recently raised the possibility of sending Western ground troops to Ukraine if Moscow breaks through “the front lines” and if kyiv requests it. He had already expressed this idea in February, creating an outcry among kyiv's allies, even if some have since taken a step in his direction, particularly in the face of the Russian push on the eastern front.

The Russian military exercises, ordered by Vladimir Putin, will involve the air force, the navy and forces of the Southern Military District, which is based very close to Ukraine and notably covers Ukrainian regions which Moscow claims to annex, according to the ministry Russian Defense.

However, their date and location were not specified, as were the number of soldiers and equipment mobilized.

Russian nuclear doctrine provides for a “strictly defensive” use of atomic weapons, in the event of an attack on Russia with weapons of mass destruction or in the event of aggression with conventional weapons “threatening the very existence of State".