During the exercises, missile forces will practice preparation for using Iskander missile systems, while air troops will equip hypersonic Kinzhal missiles with special payloads, according to Russian state news outlet TASS. The drills involve troops practicing loading launch vehicles, driving to designated launch sites, and loading planes with missiles. Moscow says the exercises are in response to provocative statements made by Western leaders concerning its conflict with Ukraine. On May 2, during a surprise visit to Kyiv, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron vowed to continue providing roughly $3.74 billion in military aid to Ukraine “for as long as it takes,” adding that his government supported weapons being used to attack positions within Russia. "We will give three billion pounds every year for as long as is necessary. We've just really emptied all we can in terms of giving equipment," he said. “Some of that (equipment) is actually arriving in Ukraine today, while I'm here.” The same day, French President Emmanuel Macron answered a question regarding the possible deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine, stating, “If the Russians were to break through the front lines, if there were a Ukrainian request — which is not the case today — we would legitimately have to ask ourselves this question.” Three months prior, Macron said that “nothing should be excluded” when discussing options for NATO troops in Ukraine to battle Russia, adding that it “is not unthinkable” to put boots on the ground. Military analysts say that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to hold military drills involving tactical nuclear weapons is to send a clear message to the West. Nikolai Sokov, a former Soviet and Russian arms control official, says that Western militaries will be watching the exercises closely to learn how much warning time they would have in the event Moscow actually did deploy tactical nukes. Tactical nuclear weapons, designed for battlefield use, have a smaller explosive yield than strategic nuclear weapons, which can be launched from submarines and intercontinental ballistic missiles. Tactical nukes are far less destructive than the atomic weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, they are considerably more destructive than conventional weapons. The U.S. State Department estimated this year that Russia has between 1,100 to 2,000 nuclear warheads for nonstrategic weapons. Defense officials have said that any use of any type of nuclear weapon, strategic or tactical, would radically alter the course of a conflict. “I do not think there is any such thing as a tactical nuclear weapon. Any nuclear weapon use any time is a strategic game changer,” then-Secretary of Defense James Mattis said in 2018. President Joe Biden said earlier this year, “I don't think there's any such thing as the ability to easily (use) a tactical nuclear weapon and not end up with Armageddon.”Russia has kicked off the first stage of drills to rehearse the use of tactical nuclear weapons in several regions bordering Ukraine.
