NATO Calls Russia's Nuclear Weapons Exercise a 'Very Worrying Development'

International•6 May’ 24 10:36Author: BNR web edition

If Russia really is detonating nuclear weapons during military exercises, that is a ‘very worrying development’. This is what NATO Deputy Secretary-General David van Weel says in the Big Five BNR program. It has been decades since Russia last conducted nuclear tests.

NATO calls Russia’s nuclear weapons exercise a ‘very worrying development’

Earlier in the day, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that large-scale air force exercises will be held in southern Russia. These exercises also test combat scenarios with tactical nuclear weapons. The exercise would be in response to “incitement from Western officials”, the ministry said. It was reportedly ordered by President Vladimir Putin. It is unclear whether bombs will be detonated. The last Russian nuclear tests were in 1990, during the Soviet Union.

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David Cameron

‘Provocations’ can refer to statements made by the British Foreign Secretary, David Cameron. He announced before the weekend that Ukraine could use British weapons to attack targets in Russia. The Kremlin immediately reacted angrily and said it was a ‘direct escalation’ of the war between Ukraine and Russia. A Kremlin spokesman also said it could be “a threat to European security and the entire European security structure.”

According to NATO leader Van Weel, it had been clear for several months that Russia was training nuclear combat scenarios. But if a real tactical nuclear weapon is also confirmed, that is a ‘very worrying development’. He says NATO hopes no nuclear weapons will be used during the exercise.

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Nuclear weapons in space

Van Weel also points to a warning from the United States that Russia wants to deploy nuclear weapons in space, including against satellites. ‘Not only NATO, not only the military equipment, but also our society is very dependent on what happens in space.’ If Russia is able to intervene by using nuclear weapons, this will have a ‘major impact on all countries’.