The Russian military is conducting nuclear drills near Ukraine. This comes as Russia has been gaining ground in the Ukraine War, opening new fronts and slowly grinding down Ukrainian men and materiel.
A nuclear attack is unlikely but not impossible. If Russia was ever in a position where its territory was invaded, chances are that it might use “small nukes” on enemy forces, vaporizing hundreds of square miles and creating serious ecological issues. Politico says:
Russia on Tuesday announced it has started tactical nuclear weapons exercises near Ukraine, as Moscow again accused the West of being “provocative.”
The Kremlin’s Southern Military District troops “are practicing combat training tasks of obtaining special ammunition for the Iskander operational-tactical missile system, equipping launch vehicles with them and covertly advancing to the designated position area in preparation for missile launches,” Russia’s defense ministry said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
After the Cold War, Russia ended up with the same problem America had during the Cold War. Its military was weaker and smaller than its main rival, which meant it had to rely on nuclear weapons more. The Hill says:
Tactical nuclear weapons typically have a smaller yield than larger, strategic nuclear weapons, but they still can carry up to 100 kilotons of yield, much higher than the U.S. bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly threatened the West with nuclear weapons amid the war in Ukraine and last year began moving tactical nuclear weapons to ally Belarus, inching them closer to NATO territory.
The US also has tactical nuclear weapons, including some that are meant to be shared with NATO allies. On the continent, France also possesses tactical nuclear weapons that would deter a Russian advance far into the European heartland.
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