“Very dangerous rhetoric.” The Kremlin’s arguments for the announced military exercises with tactical nuclear weapons near Ukraine

The Kremlin is using French President Emmanuel Macron’s statements regarding the possibility of sending “NATO soldiers” to Ukraine as an argument for military exercises that will include training for the use of tactical nuclear weapons near Ukraine.

The Russian nuclear exercises announced on Monday are a response to the statements of “western representatives”, including French President Emmanuel Macron, the Kremlin supported, writes Agerpres, citing AFP.

“A new cycle of escalating tensions”

On Monday, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that its army would organize “in the near future” nuclear exercises in which troops stationed near Ukraine will participate in particular, in response to “threats” from Western leaders.

Contacted by AFP, the spokesman of the Russian presidency, Dmitry Peskov, said that it was about the statements of Emmanuel Macron, some “British representatives” and a “representative of the American Senate, if I’m not mistaken.”

These leaders “talked about the will and even the intention to send armed contingents to Ukraine, respectively to place NATO soldiers in front of the Russian army,” said Peskov.

He claimed that it is about “a new cycle of escalation of tensions”, denouncing the “very dangerous rhetoric” of the French president.

Moscow’s announcement about nuclear exercises

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday that the exercise was ordered by President Vladimir Putin and will test the readiness of non-strategic nuclear forces to carry out combat missions.

The military exercises will include training for the preparation and deployment of non-strategic nuclear weapons, the Russian defense ministry said.

Missile units from the Southern Military District and naval forces will participate in the exercises, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. “During the exercise, a number of measures will be carried out to practice the issues related to the preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons,” the Russian defense ministry said.

Russia has the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons in the world.

Macron’s statements that Russia uses as an argument

Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron said Russia must be prevented from winning the war in Ukraine, indicating that if successful there were no guarantees that neighboring countries, including Romania and the Republic of Moldova, would not be at risk in a scenario where Moscow would achieve its strategic objectives.

The Elysee leader spoke again about the possibility of sending NATO troops to the ground in the invaded country, appreciating in an interview published by The Economist that we will have to “ask ourselves the question” if Moscow “will manage to break through the front line” and if the Kiev authorities demand it.

“If the Russians manage to break through the front line, if there was a Ukrainian request, which is not the case today, we should legitimately ask ourselves the question,” said the French president to the British weekly The Economist, quoted by Agerpres.

“To rule this out a priori means not learning the lessons of the last two years,” as NATO countries initially ruled out sending tanks and planes to Ukraine, and eventually changed their minds, he added.

The French head of state caused controversy in late February by saying that sending Western troops to Ukrainian soil should not be “ruled out” in the future.

He explained that he wants to restore “strategic ambiguity” in the European response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Most European countries, as well as the United States, have clearly distanced themselves from his remarks, even if some have since taken a step in this direction, according to AFP.