Russia rattles its nuclear saber and orders tactical nuclear weapons exercises

What happened

Russian President Vladimir Putin, inaugurated on Tuesday for a fifth presidential term, has ordered the Russian military to hold exercises simulating the use of battlefield or tactical nuclear weapons, the Kremlin said on Monday. Russia’s Defense Ministry said “provocative statements and threats from certain Western officials” prompted the drills, citing comments by British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and French President Emmanuel Macron on aid to Ukraine.

Who said what

If Ukraine uses British weapons to attack inside Russia, as Cameron has endorsed, Russia could attack British military facilities inside or outside Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. And Macron’s suggestion that French troops could fight alongside Ukraine is a “completely new round of escalation of tension” that will require “special measures.” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said: “For a leader of a major nuclear armed force to saber-ratt in this way is simply reckless and irresponsible.” “Nuclear blackmail is a constant practice of Putin’s regime,” said Andrii Yusov, spokesman for Ukraine’s military intelligence. “It’s not big news.”

What now?