Ukraine updates: Russia orders nuclear preparation drills
Russian Defense Ministry said the exercise would test the readiness of non-strategic nuclear forces to perform combat missions
President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Russian military to stage nuclear weapons drills involving the navy and troops stationed near Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry said.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian and Russian border regions reported drone strikes.
The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region said six people were killed in a drone strike in Ukraine, and Ukrainian officials reported a power outage in the Sumy region after the Russian airstrike.
Here’s a look at the latest on Russia’s war in Ukraine on Monday, May 6.
Russia’s Putin orders tactical nuclear deployment drills
Russia said it will hold military exercises that include practice using tactical nuclear weapons after what the defense ministry called provocative threats from Western officials.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said the exercise was ordered by President Vladimir Putin and would test the readiness of non-strategic nuclear forces to carry out combat missions.
The exercise is aimed at ensuring Russia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty “in response to provocative statements and threats by certain Western officials against the Russian Federation,” the ministry said.
The military drills will include training for the preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons, the ministry said.
No actual nuclear tests were reported to be planned.
“During the exercise, a set of measures will be carried out to practice the issues of preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons,” the military said.
Missile formations of the Southern Military District, which borders Ukraine, and the Navy will take part in the drills, it added.
Tactical nuclear weapons, also called non-strategic nuclear weapons, are designed to be used on a battlefield to destroy enemy targets without causing widespread destruction and radioactive fallout. Russia has the world’s largest nuclear arsenal.
Russian drone strikes cut power to 400,000 in Ukraine’s Sumy region
A Russian overnight drone attack temporarily disrupted power supply to parts of Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, local officials said.
“Electricity supply has been restored in the affected settlements and parts of the city of Sumy,” the region’s military administration said on the Telegram messaging app.
Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said Russia’s attack cut power to more than 400,000 consumers in the Sumy region. Work to restore power continued into the morning as 91 settlements remained without power in the region, the ministry and local authorities said on Telegram.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 13 attack drones targeting Ukraine, but air defense systems shot down 12 of them over the Sumy region.
Russia, which has been pounding the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine with drones and missiles throughout the war, has recently been targeting energy infrastructure in particular.
Ukrainian drones kill 6 in Russia’s Belgorod region, governor says
Six people were killed, and 35 others wounded, in a Ukrainian drone strike that hit two buses carrying people to work in Russia’s Belgorod region, the governor said Monday.
Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said the attack took place near the village of Berezovka. He posted a picture on the Telegram messaging app of a bus with its windows blown out.
Gladkov also said one man was in serious condition and two children had superficial wounds.
Theregion, which borders Ukraine, has been repeatedly attacked by Ukrainian artillery, drones and proxies over the past year.
dh/wmr (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)