Vladimir Putin orders the start of nuclear weapons drills along the border with Ukraine. The decision escalates tensions with Western nuclear powers, raising the risk of a conflict with NATO.
The European Union reacted with alarm to this decision, which called on Russia to stop these actions, which it called irresponsible. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen asked Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has friendly relations with Putin, to intervene to stop Russian threats at the tripartite meeting in Paris.
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the exercise will include non-strategic nuclear weapons, those with a short range, but not intercontinental missiles that pose a risk of hitting major nuclear powers.
In a press statement, Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov said the drills are related to the increased threat to Russia's security, following statements by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Foreign Secretary David Cameron.
French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated last week that he does not rule out sending troops to Ukraine, and UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said Kiev's forces would be able to use British long-range weapons to strike targets inside Russia.
The Kremlin described those comments as dangerous, raising tensions between Russia and NATO. The war has already put a significant strain on relations between Moscow and the West.
Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow has repeatedly threatened to use its nuclear weapons against its adversaries, which would be a world first since the U.S.- of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.
However, Putin has stated that he will use nuclear weapons only for defense.