Extract from ABC News
Russia plans to hold drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons, days after the Kremlin reacted angrily to comments by senior Western officials about the war in Ukraine and Moscow.
The Defense Ministry announced the plans on Monday local time, saying they would be in response to "provocative statements and threats of certain Western officials regarding the Russian Federation".
It was the first time that Russia has publicly announced drills involving tactical nuclear weapons, though its strategic nuclear forces regularly hold exercises.
Ukraine's military spy agency spokesperson Andriy Yusov dismissed the plans as "nuclear blackmail".
Tactical nuclear weapons include air bombs, warheads for short-range missiles and artillery munitions, and are meant for use on a battlefield.
They are less powerful than the massive warheads that arm intercontinental ballistic missiles and are intended to obliterate entire cities.
The Russian announcement appeared to be a warning to Ukraine's Western allies about becoming more deeply involved in the more than two-year war.
Some of Ukraine's Western partners have previously expressed concern about stoking the conflict amid fears it could spill beyond Ukraine into a war between NATO and Russia.
French President Emmanuel Macron repeated last week that he does not exclude sending troops to Ukraine, and UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said Kyiv's forces will be able to use British long-range weapons to strike targets inside Russia.
Some other NATO countries providing weapons to Kyiv have baulked at that possibility.
The Kremlin branded those comments as dangerous, heightening tension between Russia and NATO.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday said Mr Macron's recent statement and other remarks by British and US officials had prompted the nuclear drills.
"It's a new round of escalation," Mr Peskov said, referring to what the Kremlin regarded as provocative statements.
"It's unprecedented and requires special attention and special measures."
Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia's Security Council that is chaired by President Vladimir Putin, said the comments by Emmanuel Macron and David Cameron risked pushing the nuclear-armed world toward a "global catastrophe."
It was not the first time Europe's military support for Ukraine has irked Russian authorities and prompted nuclear threats.
In March last year — after the UK government's decision to provide Ukraine with armour-piercing shells containing depleted uranium — Putin announced that he intended to deploy tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus.
The ministry said the exercise is intended to "increase the readiness of non-strategic nuclear forces to fulfil combat tasks" and will be held on Putin's orders.
The manoeuvres will involve missile units of the Southern Military District along with the air force and the navy, it said.
Western officials have blamed Russia for threatening a wider war through provocative acts.
NATO countries said last week they are deeply concerned by a campaign of hybrid activities on the military alliance's soil, accusing Russia of being behind them and saying they represent a threat to their security.
Mr Peskov dismissed those claims as "new unfounded accusations levelled at our country."
Strikes kill people in Russia
Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones hit two vehicles Monday in Russia's Belgorod region, killing six people and injuring 35 others, including two children, local authorities said.
The Belgorod region has been an area frequently struck by Kyiv's forces in recent months.
One of the vehicles was a minibus that was carrying farm workers, Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
No other details were immediately available, and it was not possible to independently confirm the report from the border region.
While Ukraine's army is largely pinned down on the front line due to a shortage of troops and ammunition, it has used its long-range firepower to hit targets deep inside Russia.
The apparent aim is to disrupt Russia's war logistics system by hitting oil refineries and depots, and unnerve the Russian border regions.
Also, the Kremlin's forces kept up their bombardment of Ukraine's power grid, with a night time Russian drone attack targeting energy infrastructure in Ukraine's northern region of Sumy.
Multiple towns and villages in the region, including Sumy, lost power, regional authorities said.
Ukraine's air force said Russia attacked Ukrainian targets with 13 Shahed drones overnight, 12 of which were intercepted in the Sumy region.
Meanwhile Russian forces claim to have taken control of the settlements of Soloviove and Kotliarivka in Eastern Ukraine, the defence ministry said on Monday.
Russia has made slow but steady advances since taking Avdiivka, with a string of villages in the area falling to Moscow's forces.
AP/Reuters
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