ANALYSIS – Is Putin bluffing or are things getting real in Europe? Following what Moscow sees as recent escalatory statements and actions from NATO powers, including the U.S., Vladimir Putin is preparing to launch military drills with tactical nuclear weapons.
Some Western and Ukrainian officials believe Putin is again bluffing to scare the West, calling it “nuclear blackmail.”
However, the Kremlin has repeatedly indicated that it would consider using tactical nukes if Russia's existence was threatened.
The Russian nuke drills are expected to take place “in the near future” and would reportedly involve missile formations as well as air and naval forces simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons.
Meanwhile, neighboring Belarus already began its own nuke drills following the Kremlin announcement.
Belarus also borders Ukraine and NATO members Poland, Latvia and Lithuania. Belarus' authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko has close ties with Russia and provided his country as a staging ground for the war in Ukraine. (RELATED: Did Putin ‘Humiliate' China's Leader Xi By Deploying Nukes To Belarus?)
In March of 2023, Putin said Belarusian warplanes had been retrofitted to carry Russian nuclear weapons and that a storage facility for the warheads would be ready by July. Russian nukes were reportedly deployed there soon after.
In late 2022, the U.S. began “preparing rigorously” for Russia potentially striking Ukraine with a tactical nuclear weapon. And those preparations may be needed. (RELATED: Retired US General Says Putin Will Use Nukes In Ukraine)
As USA Today reported:
The Kremlin said it was in response to remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron, British officials and a representative of the U.S. Senate.
Macron has in public raised the idea of sending European troops to fight Russia in Ukraine while British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said that Ukraine had a right to use the weapons provided by London to strike targets inside Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Western statements about sending NATO soldiers to Ukraine amounted to “a completely new round of escalation of tension − it is unprecedented, and of course it requires special attention and special measures.”
Putin warned the West in March that a direct conflict between Russia and the U.S.-led NATO military alliance would mean the planet was one step away from World War Three but said hardly anyone wanted such a scenario.
The Kremlin is also warning Ukraine that Kyiv's new fleet of donated F-16 fighters will be treated as a “nuclear-capable” threat.
Newsweek reported:
Ukraine's military said last week that it would begin operating the U.S.-made jets as soon as Monday… [and] the planes would be ready for battle after Orthodox Easter, which was Sunday.
The F-16s—provided by Western allies including Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium—will represent a much-needed update to Ukraine's aging fleet of largely Soviet-made aircraft that have been battered and depleted after more than two years of combat.
While F-16s can accommodate certain nuclear weapons in the right configuration, Ukraine does not have a nuclear arsenal and there have been no indications that any allies who do possess nuclear weapons intend on sharing them with Kyiv.
But what type of nukes is Putin talking about? Unlike nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles that can destroy entire cities, tactical nuclear weapons are far less powerful. They include aerial bombs, warheads for short-range missiles and artillery munitions. (RELATED: Moscow Wants Nukes In Space, Vetoes UN Resolution To Ban Them)
BBC explained that:
Tactical nuclear weapons are small nuclear warheads and delivery systems intended for use on the battlefield, or for a limited strike.
They are designed to destroy enemy targets in a specific area without causing widespread radioactive fallout.
Strategic nuclear weapons, on the other hand, are large and designed to be fired at a long range – for example, between continents. Russia holds regular drills with strategic nuclear weapons.
In April, Belarus's long-time leader Alexander Lukashenko said “several dozen” tactical nuclear weapons were stationed in his country.
Belarus' Defense Minister said a unit of Iskander short-range missiles and a squadron of Su-25 fighter jets will take part in the drills.
Deploying tactical nukes to Belarus, which has a 673-mile border with Ukraine, allows Russian aircraft and missiles to reach potential targets there more easily and quickly if Moscow decides to use them.
It also extends Russia's capability to target several NATO allies in Eastern and Central Europe. (RELATED: Putin's Plans For Dominating Europe's Baltic States Revealed)
Meanwhile, It is estimated by the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation that there are about 100 American nuclear weapons – airborne gravity bombs – stored in Europe across six bases in five countries, although they are retained under U.S. control.
Similarly, Moscow has emphasized that the tactical nuclear weapons deployed to Belarus remain under Russian military control.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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