Nuclear escalation. Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s press secretary, directly stated that Russia conducts tactical nuclear weapons exercises taking into account two new factors.

1. Statements by the President of France about the beginning of the massive sending of NATO troops to Ukraine.
2. Statement by the British Foreign Minister that long-range missiles will be transferred to Ukraine and Britain is lifting the ban on strikes at strategic depths in Russia. They plan to fire missiles at Moscow.

In return, with the threat of tactical nuclear weapons, Russia is trying to stop a new stage of NATO aggression.

Moscow emphasizes that tactical nuclear weapons will strike not only against NATO troops on the territory of Ukraine, but also against military facilities on the territory of NATO countries. Dmitry Medvedev stated this. And this was stated by Dmitry Trenin, one of the leading military-political experts, who is close to the Ministry of Defense, as many believe.

What kinds of tactical nuclear weapons does Russia have?

Russia’s military is planning tactical nuclear weapon (TNW) drills in response to “provocative threats” by NATO about deploying troops in Ukraine. 

What are tactical nukes? 

TNWs, or ‘battlefield’ nuclear weapons are a class of nukes first developed by the US in the 1950s for use against enemy troops and other ‘tactical’ targets. The USSR created its own lineup of TNWs, many of them standardized with conventional weapons systems. 

Modern TNWs’ explosive power ranges from fractions of a kiloton to about 50 kilotons. For comparison, the US nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 had a yield of about 15 kilotons. 

How many TNWs does Russia have? 

The size of Russia’s TNW stockpile is kept under wraps, but the Federation of American Scientists estimates it to be between 1,000-2,000 nukes total (down from 22,000 in 1991). These weapons are not subject to treaty restrictions that affect strategic nuclear arsenals. 

What means does Russia have to use its tactical nukes? 

Russia has an array of means to deliver TNWs, including: 

ground-based Iskander-M missile systems 

ship and air-launched Kalibr and Kh-59 cruise missiles 

missiles and free-fall bombs launched from warplanes including the Su-34, Tu-142, Tu-22M3, Su-24, Su-25, MiG-31K and Su-57. 

Yasen-class cruise missile subs can theoretically carry TNWs. 

Smaller TNWs can be fired by standard 152 mm Russian howitzers, like the Msta-S/B, Akatsiya and Giatsint-S. Specially-developed nuclear artillery rounds for the 203 mm Pion/Malka cannon and 240 mm Tulpan mortar system were created.