Russia holds nuclear drills after Joe Biden warning

Russia carried out military exercises simulating a retaliatory nuclear strike as President Joe Biden warned Vladimir Putin that any use of an atomic weapon would be an “incredibly serious mistake.”

As he oversaw the drills, Putin was told by his defense chief that the maneuvers on Wednesday were meant to simulate a “massive nuclear strike” in response to an attack, according to the televised remarks. The exercises included the launch of intercontinental ballistic missiles from Kamchatka in the Russian far east, ballistic missiles from the Barents Sea as well as cruise missiles fired from the air by strategic bombers.

Russian officials have denied they plan to use atomic weapons, while the Kremlin has accused Ukraine of planning to detonate a so-called “dirty bomb,” claims Kyiv and its allies have dismissed. Ukraine in turn has warned that Moscow could be preparing to explode a conventional weapon containing radioactive material and blame it on the Ukrainian side.

The US had been notified that Russia would conduct the exercise in compliance with arms control obligations, the Pentagon said earlier. “Russia would be making an incredibly serious mistake were it to use a tactical nuclear weapon,” Biden said on Tuesday. The president said he’d been in discussions about the possibility.

“I spent a lot of time today talking about that,” Biden told reporters. “Let me just say, Russia would be making an incredibly serious mistake were it to use a tactical nuclear weapon.”

Russia already held the nuclear drills once this year, in February, shortly before it invaded Ukraine. Putin presided over those, as well, inviting Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to join him. The exercises involving submarines, planes and missiles traditionally take place in October, but were skipped in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a separate televised event, Putin renewed his accusations against the US, saying it’s using Ukraine as a “battering-ram” against Russia.

Russian defense chief Shoigu spoke with his Chinese and Indian counterparts to discuss Moscow’s allegations that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb on its own territory.

The calls took place after Shoigu earlier this week contacted defense ministers in the UK, France and Turkey to make the same claims. The US and Russian defense chiefs also spoke twice in the space of three days.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said his country has “information” about the threat, which it’s shared, including at the United Nations Security Council. Ukraine has denied the accusations, suggesting that Russia itself is planning to explode a dirty bomb and blame it on Kyiv.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Russian claims about a Ukrainian “dirty bomb” are “absurd.” Russia must not use a false pretext “to escalate the war further,” he told reporters in Brussels.

Stoltenberg said he would meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “in the near future” as he seeks quick ratification of bids by Sweden and Finland to join Nato —and reiterated that allies are ready to support Ukraine for “as long as it takes.”

“The stronger Ukraine is on the battlefield, the more likely we will have a political solution that ensures Ukraine prevails as a sovereign, independent nation in Europe,” Stoltenberg said.

—Bloomberg