Defence Min-Military Drill To Prepare For Possible Nuclear Attack

Russian state-run RIA Novosti reporting that President Vladimir Putin has watched a nuclear forces drill.

• Max Seddon at the FT: "Putin is observing a Russian nuclear exercise. They hold these every year, and Russia warned the US about them in advance. But the last time Russia held one was in February – just a few days before invading Ukraine."
• Defence Minsiter Sergei Shoigu: Nuclear exercises being undertaken to prepare for possibly enemy nuclear attack against Russia.
• Shoigu's comments come following calls between the Russian defence minister and his counterparts from China and Russia putting forward further claims that Ukraine is planning to deploy a 'dirty bomb' in the conflict zone.
• The escalation in Russia warning of a 'dirty bomb' to both the West and its erstwhile allies/neutral countries in Asia remains a concerning development. There is the rising potential that Moscow uses the supposed threat of such action as an excuse to engage in its own 'pre-emptive measures' against Ukraine.