President Vladimir Putin has directed Russian forces to conduct military drills involving the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in response to perceived threats from the West. This decision comes in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and escalating tensions with Western nations.
While Putin has previously hinted at the possibility of using tactical nuclear weapons against the West, this marks the first public announcement of such drills by Russia. The Russian defense ministry stated that the exercises would focus on preparing and utilizing non-strategic nuclear weapons, which are designed for battlefield scenarios and have lower destructive power compared to strategic nuclear weapons.
