Russia said on Monday that it would hold military exercises with troops based near Ukraine to practice for the possible use of battlefield nuclear weapons, ratcheting up tensions with the West after two European leaders raised the prospect of more direct Western intervention in the war. Such weapons, often referred to as “tactical,” are designed for battlefield use and have smaller warheads than the “strategic” nuclear weapons meant to target cities. Russia’s Defense Ministry said that President Vladimir V. Putin had ordered an exercise for missile, aviation and naval personnel to “increase the readiness of nonstrategic nuclear forces to carry out combat missions.”Russian officials claimed the order was in response to comments from the West about the possibility of more direct Western involvement in the war in Ukraine. And it came at the start of a week of extensive publicity for the Russian leader, with his inauguration scheduled for Tuesday, followed on Thursday by the annual Victory Day celebration, which commemorates the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945. The announcement of the exercise was Russia’s most explicit warning in its more than two-year invasion of Ukraine that it could use tactical nuclear weapons there.

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Persons: Vladimir V, Putin Organizations: Russia’s Defense Ministry Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Nazi Germany