This week, the Russian Ministry of Defense has sent out a number of photos of an exercise with tactical nuclear weapons. In the Russian propaganda, it is said that the forces are to be trained in transporting rockets and nuclear charges out to the places where they are to be fired from. According to some reports, the warheads are not real, and that they are intended for exercises. WANT ATTENTION: Russian authorities have published many photos of the nuclear exercise this week. Photo: AP First the Russian authorities announced that the exercise would take place in the southern part of Russia. Subsequently, it appears to have been expanded quite strongly, and that forces from the Norwegian border in the north and all the way down to the Black Sea have participated. Rocket forces on land, at sea and in the air must have been involved. Tactical nuclear weapons for relatively small and intended to be used on the battlefield. – Threats to intimidate Lieutenant Colonel Palle Ydstebø at the Norwegian Military Academy tells news that it is unlikely that Russia will use tactical nuclear weapons. – Russia is trying to weaken Ukraine’s fighting power with nuclear threats, Ydstebø believes. HELD OFTEN: This image is from a Russian nuclear exercise earlier this year. Photo: AP He adds that the purpose is to frighten Western countries so that they place restrictions on the weapons that are given to Ukraine. – I think it is pure propaganda from the Russian side, says the lieutenant colonel. He believes that with the use of nuclear weapons, no one knows how the war will develop further. Nato worried It was President Vladimir Putin who gave the order to hold the nuclear exercise. It happened after the US and other countries allowed Ukraine to use Western missiles against targets inside Russia. TRAINING: Rockets capable of launching tactical nuclear weapons are transported on trucks to the launch site. Photo: AP In the past, the Western weapons have only been used against Russian targets in areas that Russia has occupied. NATO, on the other hand, is concerned about the development. – Over time, we have seen dangerous rhetoric from the Russian side. We have also seen several nuclear exercises from the Russian side, says NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg. Does not believe in negotiations From the Russian side, it is claimed that Nato is escalating the war in Ukraine by letting the Ukrainians fire Western rockets into Russia. This claim is rejected by the Norwegian military expert. – I wouldn’t call it an escalation. Ukraine has not yet used similar weapons in Russia that Russia uses in Ukraine, Ydstebø points out. PROPAGANDA: Lieutenant Colonel Palle Ydstebø at the Norwegian Military Academy believes that Russia is trying to scare Western countries by practicing with nuclear weapons. Photo: Gunhild Hjermundrud / Gunhild Hjermundrud He believes that the Ukrainians are now using weapons that can put them on a more equal footing with weapons that Russia uses, and says that the Russians have been responsible for the escalation. The Norwegian expert explains that the Russian offensive has mostly stopped in the Kharkiv region in the north-east, where Ukraine has started to counter-attack. Russia continues its offensive in Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts. There they stock up on artillery and soldiers and manage to chew their way forward slowly, but suffer heavy losses. Ydstebø does not think the parties are ready for negotiations. – No, one has not. Because both sides have faith that they can decide the war in their favor. And none of them are so exhausted that they are forced to the negotiating table. Published 15.06.2024, at 11.39
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Russia is trying to weaken Ukraine with nuclear threats, Lieutenant Colonel Palle Ydstebø believes – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
