By Guy Faulconbridge and Darya Korsunskaya
MOSCOW (Reuters) -President Vladimir Putin kicked off a new exercise of Russia’s nuclear forces on Tuesday at a critical point in the Ukraine war, the second such drill that Moscow has held in two weeks.
The 2-1/2-year-old war is entering what Russian officials say is its most dangerous phase as Russian forces are advancing in eastern Ukraine and the West considers how to shore up Ukraine.
Russia has been signalling for weeks to the West that Moscow will respond if the United States and its allies help Ukraine fire longer-range missiles deep into Russia, while NATO says that North Korea has sent troops to western Russia.
“We will work out the actions of officials to control the use of nuclear weapons with practical launches of ballistic and cruise missiles,” Putin was shown saying in a video clip announcing the drill.
In video released by the Kremlin, Putin said using nuclear weapons would be an “extremely exceptional measure” but they need to be kept ready for use.
“We will continue to improve all their components. The resources for this are available. I stress that we are not going to get involved in a new arms race, but we will maintain nuclear forces at the level of necessary sufficiency,” he said.
The drill follows an Oct. 18 exercise in the Tver region, northwest of Moscow, involving a unit equipped with Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of striking U.S. cities.
Putin, Russia’s ultimate decision maker, last month approved changes to the official nuclear doctrine – which sets out the conditions under which Russia could consider using such weapons.
Under the changes, Russia would consider any assault on it supported by a nuclear power to be a joint attack – a clear warning to the United States not to help Ukraine strike deep into Russia with conventional weapons.
RISING TENSIONS
Russia is the world’s largest nuclear power. Together, Russia and the U.S. control 88% of the world’s nuclear warheads. U.S. officials say they have seen no change to Russia’s nuclear posture during the war.
But the United States in 2022 was so concerned about the possible use of tactical nuclear weapons by Russia that it warned Putin over the consequences of using such weapons, according to Central Intelligence Agency Director Bill Burns.
Putin, who portrays the West as a decadent aggressor, and U.S. President Joe Biden, who casts Russia as a corrupt autocracy, have both warned that a direct Russia-NATO confrontation could escalate into World War Three. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has also warned of the risk of nuclear war.
“Given the growing geopolitical tensions and the emergence of new external threats and risks, it is important to have modern and constantly ready-to-use strategic forces,” Putin said.
Putin added that Russia was moving to new “stationary and mobile-based missile systems” which have a reduced launch preparation time and could overcome missile defence systems.
The U.S. will not impose new limits on Ukraine’s use of American weapons if North Korea joins Russia’s war, the Pentagon said on Monday, as NATO said North Korean military units had been deployed to the Kursk region in Russia.
(Reporting by Dasha Korsunskaya in London and Guy Faulconbridge in Moscow; Writing by Anastasia Teterevleva and Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
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