VOA News | Monday, May 6, 2024 
Russia announces nuclear drills in response to perceived Western threats

Russia plans to perform drills involving tactical nuclear weapons, in response to what it called “provocative statements and threats from France, Britain and the United States regarding the Russian Federation,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement, a warning that tensions with the West are deepening over the war in Ukraine. The statement Monday was in response to recent remarks by British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and French President Emmanuel Macron as well as the delivery of U.S. long-range ATACMS, or Army Tactical Missile Systems, to Ukraine. “They are deliberately leading the situation towards a further escalation of the Ukrainian crisis towards an open military clash between NATO countries and Russia,” the Russian foreign ministry said, and added, “we hope that this event will cool down the ‘hotheads’ in Western capitals.” Macron repeated last week that he doesn’t rule out sending troops to Ukraine, while Cameron said Kyiv’s forces will be able to use British long-range weapons to strike targets inside Russia. “Just as Russia is striking inside Ukraine, you can quite understand why Ukraine feels the need to make sure it’s defending itself,” Cameron said in an interview with Reuters last week. France on Monday dismissed ongoing Russian reports as a “disinformation campaign,” denying sending troops to Ukraine…Read more