Vladimir Putin has monitored drills simulating a “massive nuclear strike” by Russia.
The manoeuvres followed the Russian president’s warning about his readiness to use “all means available” to fend off attacks on Russia’s territory as he prepared to lay claim to captured Ukrainian lands.
The Biden administration said Russia gave notice of the tests. Russian nuclear drills taken place on an annual basis to train the relevant forces and demonstrate their readiness.
The latest drills came as Mr Putin told a meeting of spy chiefs from ex-Soviet states that Russia was aware of Ukrainian plans to use a “dirty bomb”, echoing an unsubstantiated allegation repeatedly made by Moscow in recent days.
Mr Putin also warned there was a high risk of conflict in the world and region, and that security should be heightened around key infrastructure sites.
Volodymyr Zelensky and western officials have refuted Moscow’s claim that Kyiv plans to use a “dirty bomb”, while Ukraine’s state energy regulator warned Russia was itself developing such a device at an occupied nuclear power plant.
