Russia has a large number of tactical nuclear weapons designed for short-range battlefield use.
The intimidation of Russia’s nuclear weapons is a heavy burden in the horizontal cup that has kept military alliance NATO members from participating directly in defending Ukraine from Russian invasion. In his speech announcing the invasion of Ukraine, the President of Russia Vladimir Putin threatened foreign powers with “unprecedented consequences” if they interfered in Russia’s “special operation” in Ukraine.
Putin’s warning was widely interpreted to threaten nuclear weapons, and soon after, Putin ordered the country’s nuclear forces into increased combat readiness. A Kremlin spokesman said on Tuesday Dmitry Peskov expressed the US channel In an CNN interview (you switch to another service)that Russia uses nuclear weapons only when it feels that its existence is under threat.
– If our country faces an existential threat, then (the use of nuclear weapons) may come into question, Peskov answered the journalist’s question about the conditions under which Russia could use its nuclear weapons.
According to Russia’s nuclear weapons doctrine, the country’s nuclear weapons have a purely defensive intimidation against other nuclear powers considered potential opponents.
Russia’s nuclear weapons raise concerns about the country’s wide range of short-range battlefield tactical nuclear weapons, which are feared to be used in Ukraine.
Tactical nuclear weapons are distinguished from strategic nuclear warheads, which are found in intercontinental missiles, among others. These smaller nuclear warheads could be launched with Russia’s Iskander and Kalibr missile systems in Ukraine.
According to the BBC (switching to another service) According to the United States, which closely monitors Russia’s nuclear weapons, so far there have been no signs that tactical nuclear weapons have been transferred from stockpiles for combat use in Ukraine.