Russia’s foreign ministry has commented further on the tactical nuclear weapons drills, according to Reuters. It reported the ministry saying it was hoped they would cool down “hotheads” in the west who Moscow said were pushing for a direct military confrontation between Nato and Russia.
Russia’s foreign ministry mentioned remarks by the British foreign secretary, David Cameron, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the delivery of US ATACMS long-ranges missiles to Ukraine.
“They are deliberately leading the situation towards a further escalation of the Ukrainian crisis towards an open military clash between Nato countries and Russia,” the foreign ministry said.
Russia said on Monday it would practise the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons as part of a military exercise after what the Moscow said were threats from France, Britain and the United States.
“We hope that this event will cool down the ‘hotheads’ in western capitals,” the foreign ministry said.
Sweden’s foreign minister, Tobias Billström, said Russia’s planned nuclear drills “contribute to increasing instability”.
“In the current security situation, Russia’s actions may be considered particularly irresponsible and reckless,” Billström told Swedish news agency TT.
The drills were announced on the eve of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inauguration to a fifth term in office and in a week when Moscow on Thursday will celebrate Victory Day, its most important secular holiday, marking its defeat of Nazi Germany in the second world war.
Here is a summary of today's developments so far:
Russia warned Britain on Monday that if British weapons were used by Ukraine to strike Russian territory then Moscow could hit back at British military installations and equipment both inside Ukraine and elsewhere.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday that China had all along been working “vigorously” to facilitate talks for peace in Ukraine, according to Chinese state media.
Russia’s tactical nuclear weapon drills are a response to statements from the West about sending troops to Ukraine, the Kremlin said on Monday.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry called on Kyiv’s international allies not to recognise Vladimir Putin as Russia’s legitimate president.
The first Olympian to die in the war in Ukraine has been announced. The weightlifter Oleksandr Pielieshenko, who finished fourth in the 85kg light-heavyweight category at the Rio Games in 2016, was killed defending his country on Sunday.
The first Olympian to die in the war in Ukraine has been announced. The weightlifter Oleksandr Pielieshenko, who finished fourth in the 85kg light-heavyweight category at the Rio Games in 2016, was killed defending his country on Sunday.
The news was confirmed by the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, who said Pielieshenko died during combat operations.
You can read more about his career and tributes from the weightlifting community here:
One man was killed on Monday in a Ukrainian attack on the village of Nikolskoye in Russia’s Belgorod region, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on his Telegram channel.
Russia states British military facilities could be targeted after Cameron remarks
Russia warned Britain on Monday that if British weapons were used by Ukraine to strike Russian territory then Moscow could hit back at British military installations and equipment both inside Ukraine and elsewhere.
British Ambassador Nigel Casey was summoned to the foreign ministry for a formal protest after Foreign Secretary David Cameron said Ukraine had the right to use British weapons to strike Russia.
Russia’s foreign ministry said the Cameron remarks recognised that Britain was now de-facto a part of the conflict.
“Casey was warned that in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory with British weapons, any British military facilities and equipment on the territory of Ukraine and abroad could be targeted,” the foreign ministry said.
“The Ambassador was called upon to reflect on the inevitable catastrophic consequences of such hostile steps by London and immediately refute the belligerent provocative statements of the head of the Foreign Office in the most decisive and unambiguous way.”
Cameron, during a visit to Kyiv, told Reuters last week that Ukraine had a right to use the weapons provided by London to strike targets inside Russia, and that it was up to Kyiv whether to do so.
“Ukraine has that right. Just as Russia is striking inside Ukraine, you can quite understand why Ukraine feels the need to make sure it’s defending itself,” Cameron told Reuters outside St. Michael’s Cathedral.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday that China had all along been working “vigorously” to facilitate talks for peace in Ukraine, according to Chinese state media.
China did not create the Ukraine crisis, nor was it a party to it, Xi told French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a trilateral meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris.
Ukraine calls on allies not to recognise Putin as Russia's 'legitimate president'
Ukraine’s foreign ministry called on Kyiv’s international allies not to recognise Vladimir Putin as Russia’s legitimate president.
“Ukraine sees no legal grounds for recognising him as a democratically elected and legitimate president of the Russian Federation,” the ministry said in a statement, published ahead of Putin’s inauguration on Tuesday.
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EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen says China’s President has “important role” to play in de-escalating tensions over nuclear threats made by Russia.
Von der Leyen was part of trilateral talks between her, French President Emmanuel Macron and Xi Jinping at a summit in Paris on Monday.
She pressed Xi Jinping to use Beijing’s influence to halt the Russian war against Ukraine, also telling the Chinese leader to accept fair global trade rules.
Von der Leyen also said she was “confident” Xi Jinping would continue to play an “important role” in de-escalating tensions over nuclear threats made by Russia, hours after President Vladimir Putin ordered nuclear weapons drills involving troops based near Ukraine.
Both Macron and von der Leyen have indicated that trade was a priority in the talks, underscoring that Europe must defend its “strategic interests” in its economic relations with China.
Associated Press have some more information on the planned drills. It says it was the first time that Russia has publicly announced drills involving tactical nuclear weapons, though its strategic nuclear forces regularly hold exercises.
Tactical nuclear weapons include air bombs, warheads for short-range missiles and artillery munitions and are meant for use on a battlefield. They are less powerful than the massive warheads that arm intercontinental ballistic missiles and are intended to obliterate entire cities.
The Russian announcement appeared to be a warning to Ukraine’s western allies about becoming more deeply involved in the more than two-year war.
French President Emmanuel Macron repeated last week that he doesn’t exclude sending troops to Ukraine, and UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said Kyiv’s forces will be able to use British long-range weapons to strike targets inside Russia.
Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council that’s chaired by President Vladimir Putin, said in his typically hawkish fashion that the comments by Macron and Cameron risked pushing the nuclear-armed world toward a “global catastrophe.”
The Russian defence ministry said the exercise is intended to “increase the readiness of non-strategic nuclear forces to fulfil combat tasks” and will be held on Putin’s orders. The manoeuvres will involve missile units of the Southern Military District along with the air force and the navy, it said.
The British ambassador to Moscow, Nigel Casey, was summoned to the Russian foreign ministry, Russian state agency RIA reported on Monday. Reuters said the ministry did not give the reason but there is speculation that it is linked to statements made last week by the foreign secretary, David Cameron, saying he had no issue with British-supplied weapons being used by Ukraine to strike inside Russia.
It comes as Russia has cited statements by the west as justification for upcoming nuclear weapons drills.
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Ukraine accuses Russia of 'nuclear blackmail' over weapons drills
Russia’s plans to conduct tactical nuclear drills are nothing more than its continuing nuclear blackmail, Ukraine’s military spy agency spokesperson said on Monday.
“We do not see here anything new, except for the information effect and statements... Nuclear blackmail is a constant practice of Putin’s regime,” Andriy Yusov told national TV.
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The German ambassador to Russia has been recalled for consultations after Berlin accused Moscow of launching cyberattacks on its defence and aerospace firms and ruling party, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry said on Monday.
Ambassador Alexander Graf Lambsdorff will return to Berlin in line with diplomatic protocol, the spokesperson said, three days after Russia’s envoy was summoned in protest over a campaign Berlin says was launched two years ago by a group linked to Moscow’s GRU military intelligence agency.
The accusations come at a time of heightened anxiety in Europe over suspected Russian hackers and spies since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and in the run-up to European elections.
Germany will not be represented at the inauguration of Russian President Vladimir Putin for his next six-year term in office on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry said.
Relations between Russia and Germany, which used to be the biggest buyer of Russian oil and gas, have broken down since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The Pentagon said Monday that AeroVironment Inc’s Switchblade-600 loitering munition was the first weapon to be publicly confirmed to be part of the Replicator initiative, which aims to rapidly deploy thousands of military drones.
The Switchblade-600 has gained notoriety because the Ukrainian military is using it to strike Russian troops.
In an effort to enhance the U.S. military’s autonomous and uncrewed capabilities, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks kicked off the $1 billion Replicator idea in August. The two-year program aims to integrate drones and technological innovations into defense programs at an accelerated pace.
French president Emmanuel Macron has told China’s President Xi Jinping that it is essential they co-ordinate on Ukraine.
To read more about the talks between these two leaders, you can follow our colleagues’ reporting on the Europe blog here:
Russia nuclear weapons drills in response to West possibly sending troops to Ukraine
Russia’s tactical nuclear weapon drills are a response to statements from the West about sending troops to Ukraine, the Kremlin said on Monday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov cited comments by the French President Emmanuel Macron on possibly sending soldiers to Ukraine, as well as statements from the British and US Senate representatives.
Military and other special services are verifying reports about deployment of France’s foreign legion in Ukraine, Peskov added.
Peskov also said a Financial Times report saying that Russia was preparing acts of sabotage across Europe was “not serious” and was “groundless”.
The FT said in a recent report that European intelligence agencies had warned their governments that Russia was plotting violent acts of sabotage across the continent as it committed to a course of permanent conflict with the west.
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French President Emmanuel Macron and EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen were set to press China’s President Xi Jinping on Monday to reduce trade imbalances and use his influence on Russia over the war in Ukraine.
Xi was in Europe for the first time in five years, at a time of growing trade tensions, with the European Union investigating several Chinese industries including electric vehicle exports, while Beijing is probing mostly French-made imports of brandy.
France hopes to nudge China into pressuring Moscow to halt operations in Ukraine, with little progress apart from Xi’s decision to call President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for the first time shortly after Macron visited Beijing last year.
Electricity had been partly restored in the city of Sumy after a Russian drone attack cut power to 400,000 consumers overnight, local officials said.
Work to restore electricity continued into the morning as 91 settlements out of the 1,325 impacted remained without power in the region, national grid operator Ukrenergo said on Telegram messaging app.
“Electricity supply has been restored in the affected settlements and parts of the city of Sumy,” the region’s military administration said on Telegram.
Ukraine’s air force said that Russia launched 13 attack drones against Ukraine. Air defence systems downed 12 of the air weapons over the Sumy region.
Russia to carry out nuclear weapons drills
Russia has said it would hold a military exercise that will include practice for the use of tactical nuclear weapons, Reuters reports. It comes after what the defence ministry said were provocative threats from western officials.
The defence ministry said the exercise was ordered by President Vladimir Putin and would test the readiness of non-strategic nuclear forces to perform combat missions.
The military drills will include practice for the preparation and deployment for use of non-strategic nuclear weapons, the defence ministry said. Missile formations in the southern military district and naval forces will take part.
“During the exercise, a set of measures will be carried out to practice the issues of preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons,” the defence ministry said. Russia has the world’s largest arsenal of nuclear weapons.
The exercise is aimed at ensuring Russia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty “in response to provocative statements and threats by certain western officials against the Russian Federation”, the ministry said.
In other developments:
A Russian overnight drone attack cut power to over 400,000 consumers in Ukraine’s northeast region of Sumy on Monday, Ukraine‘s energy ministry said in a statement via the Telegram messaging app.
A Ukrainian drone attack hit vehicles carrying workers in Russia’s frontier Belgorod region, killing six people and injuring 35, the governor said Monday. Belgorod has come under an increasing number of fatal Ukrainian attacks in recent months and Monday’s bombardment is the deadliest in weeks.
Ukraine will be one of the main items on the agenda as China’s premier, Xi Jinping, visits France. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, and European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, are expected to urge him to use his influence with Russia.
Italy’s defence minister said on Monday economic sanctions against Russia had failed and called on the West to try harder to negotiate a diplomatic solution with Putin to end the war in Ukraine. Guido Crosetto told daily Il Messaggero that the West had wrongly believed its sanctions could stop Russia’s aggression, but it had overestimated its economic influence in the world. “Instead ... the only way to resolve this crisis is to involve everyone, first (to obtain) a truce and then peace,” Crosetto said.
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