Near Ukrainian border Russia launches exercises involving tactical nuclear weapons.

Russian troops have begun major exercises to ensure their readiness for the potential deployment of tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield, as Moscow warned of an encroaching threat from Western allies.
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Russian forces are training in the use of tactical nuclear weapons in the southern military district of the country in this video capture from a document broadcast by the Russian Ministry of Defense, on May 21, 2024. (Picture source: Russian MoD)

On Tuesday May 21, 2024, the Russian Ministry of Defense released a video of soldiers training to mount missiles and warheads on fighter jets from the back of armored trucks equipped with missile firing systems.

The Ministry stated in a message published on Telegram that Russian troops had launched the first phase of "practical trials" of tactical nuclear weapons in the southern military district, which includes the southwestern regions of Russia, bordering Ukraine.

The troops are training in missile formations to load vehicles with Iskander ballistic missiles, then drive them to designated areas during a simulated test. Aeronautical personnel trained to equip hypersonic Kinzhal missiles and simulated nuclear warheads on fighter jets and fly them to designated areas.

The Russian Ministry of Defense, in a statement published on Telegram, declared, "The ongoing exercise aims to maintain the readiness of personnel and equipment of units for combat use of non-strategic nuclear weapons in order to respond and unconditionally ensure the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Russian state in response to provocative statements and threats from individual Western officials against the Russian Federation."

These exercises risk exacerbating tensions with the United States and reviving fears that Russia might be ready to deploy tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Tactical nuclear weapons generally have less power than larger strategic nuclear weapons but can still carry up to 100 kilotons of power, significantly more than the American bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly threatened the West with nuclear weapons amid the war in Ukraine and began last year to move tactical nuclear weapons to ally Belarus, bringing them closer to NATO territory.

Earlier this year, Putin threatened to use nuclear weapons if Western allies came to Ukraine's aid.

The exercises help troops prepare for a potential future deployment of nuclear weapons but do not actually involve testing nuclear bombs. Such tests are prohibited by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, although Russia, rescinded its ratification of the agreement. 

The United States has never ratified the treaty but has not tested a nuclear bomb since the early 1990s. The last known nuclear test occurred in North Korea in 2017.