NATO will carry out its annual nuclear drills in Europe next week, shortly after Russia alluded to using nuclear weapons to defend its isolated Baltic Sea territory of Kaliningrad against the alliance. The Steadfast Noon exercise is held each year, and the alliance stressed on Thursday that it was "long-planned" and "routine." Roughly 2,000 people were directly involved in the 2025 drills, along with 70 aircraft from more than a dozen states, including ones certified to carry nuclear bombs. This year's exercise will have a similar number of personnel and aircraft, said Colonel Martin O’Donnell, a senior NATO military spokesperson.
They will rehearse how to deploy aircraft able to launch nuclear bombs, sending personnel and equipment to certain bases and making sure refueling aircraft and security teams can support nuclear operations, he said. "The exercise couldn’t be more predictable," O’Donnell told Newsweek. NATO chief Mark Rutte said the drills, kicking off in Italy on Tuesday, helped "preserve peace, prevent coercion and deter aggression." A total of 17 countries will take part, and no live weapons will be fired.
NATO said this year's Steadfast Noon exercise was "not linked to current world events and is not directed against any country." It's a "clear message to nations like Russia that there is no need to worry," Nassima Barrows, NATO's deputy director for nuclear policy, said in remarks reported by Politico. But they come just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to use Moscow's own vast nuclear weapons arsenal against NATO if the Kaliningrad exclave came under attack. European members of NATO have also warned Russia is escalating its sabotage, cyber and misinformation campaigns amid concerns the Kremlin is probing how the alliance would respond to Russian attacks.
Russia's embassy in London said it "categorically rejects" that Moscow is waging a so-called hybrid war on NATO. NATO has denounced "irresponsible nuclear rhetoric" and insisted the alliance in no way posed a risk to Russia, including when conducting military exercises in the Baltic Sea. Kaliningrad is home to a major Russian naval fleet and launchers capable of firing fast-traveling missiles, but it is surrounded by NATO member states and sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania.
Last month, British broadcaster Sky News aired a miniseries tracing a hypothetical Russian attack on the United Kingdom and how the country might respond—including by authorizing operations against the Baltic territory of Kaliningrad. It generated significant British media attention. "Those advocating plans to blockade or strike Kaliningrad should have no illusions about the consequences," the Russian embassy in London said at the time.
Nuclear weapons stockpiles were slashed as the Cold War came to a close in the late 20th century, but experts say the number of warheads which could realistically be used is now increasing again. Several NATO countries pressed up close to Russia have also expressed tentative interest in hosting U.S. nuclear weapons on their soil. The United States, United Kingdom and France are the only three NATO members with nuclear weapons.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
