The Russian Defense Ministry on Monday said the military will hold exercises involving tactical nuclear weapons – the first time an exercise has been publicly announced by Moscow.
Tactical nuclear weapons are a key part of the Kremlin’s political messaging, the Associated Press news agency writes.
Unlike intercontinental ballistic missiles that can destroy entire cities, tactical nuclear weapons can be used against the military on the battlefield and are less powerful. They weigh about 1 kiloton. The bomb that the US dropped on Hiroshima during World War II was 15 kilotons.
Such weapons – aerial bombs, nuclear warheads for short-range missiles or artillery ammunition – can be very compact.
Because they are small, armies can transport them by truck or plane.
Unlike strategic weapons, which are the target of arms control agreements between Moscow and Washington, tactical weapons have never been limited by such pacts, and Russia has never disclosed the number it possesses.
Putin’s attitudes
Since the full invasion of Ukraine began, Russian President Vladimir Putin has constantly reminded Western countries of Moscow’s nuclear capabilities. He did this in an effort to discourage them from supporting Kiev.
At the beginning of the war, Putin repeatedly referred to Moscow’s nuclear weapons as he would use “all measures” necessary to protect Russia.
Nuclear weapons in Belarus
Last year, Russia deployed some of its tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus, a Russian ally that borders Poland, Latvia and Lithuania.
Belarus’s authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko, has long called on Moscow to deploy nuclear weapons in his country.
Putin and Lukashenko have stated that the transfer of nuclear weapons to Belarus was intended to repel threats from the West.
