Ukraine war reside updates: Russia launches tactical nuclear weapons drills, warning the West versus direct involvement in the war

The timing of Russian non-strategic nuclear weapons drills that started on Tuesday is not accidental and will undoubtedly be watched carefully by Ukraine and the West.

The workouts come at a time when Russia is frequently warning Kyiv’s Western allies towards any direct involvement in the war in Ukraine, which includes any likely deployment of ground troops.

Non-strategic or tactical nuclear weapons are made for use on the battlefield and are in a position to erase particular targets, these as military bases or teaching facilities. While they are significantly less devastating than strategic nuclear weapons that can wipe out overall cities, their work in the most current drills has built Russia’s intentions obvious with the drills built to deliver a warning to Russia’s adversaries.

Announcing the workout routines earlier in May well, Russia’s Ministry of Defense right linked the drills to “provocative statements and threats of particular person Western officers from the Russian Federation.”

Russia has been significantly displeased by French President Emmanuel Macron’s suggestion that he wouldn’t rule out French ground troops getting deployed in Ukraine. The U.K.’s Foreign Minister David Cameron has also prompted uproar declaring Ukraine is absolutely free to make your mind up no matter if to use long-variety missiles from targets within Russia.

Previously this 7 days, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy named on allies to get extra instantly included in the war, this sort of as by encouraging to intercept Russian missiles. The Kremlin accused Zelenskyy of “hysterics” and explained that Kyiv’s ask for was owing to “unfavorable situations” for Ukraine on the battlefield.

— Holly Ellyatt

Russia previous 7 days released a satellite that U.S. intelligence officials imagine to be a weapon capable of inspecting and attacking other satellites, the U.S. Place Command said on Tuesday as the Russian spacecraft trails a U.S. spy satellite in orbit.

Russia’s Soyuz rocket blasted off from its Plesetsk launch site some 500 miles (800 km) north of Moscow on Could 16, deploying in very low-Earth orbit at minimum 9 satellites which include COSMOS 2576, a variety of Russian army “inspector” spacecraft U.S. officials have lengthy condemned as exhibiting reckless house actions.

“We have noticed nominal action and assess it is likely a counterspace weapon presumably capable of attacking other satellites in reduced Earth orbit,” a USSPACECOM spokesperson mentioned in a statement to Reuters.

“Russia deployed this new counterspace weapon into the exact same orbit as a U.S. government satellite.”

COSMOS 2576 resembled previously deployed counterspace payloads from 2019 and 2022, the assertion additional, referring to previous Russian practices of deploying satellites close to delicate U.S. spy satellites.

U.S. intelligence organizations experienced been expecting the start of COSMOS 2576 and knowledgeable allies of their assessment of the satellite in advance of its deployment in house, according to a U.S. official acquainted with the intelligence. The launch also included civilian satellites deployed to diverse orbits.

— Reuters

Russian forces on Tuesday started the 1st phase of instruction in the “preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons,” the Ministry of Defense stated in a write-up on Telegram.

“As section of this stage, the personnel of the missile formations of the Southern Military District are practicing battle education duties of getting special ammunition for the Iskander operational-tactical missile system, equipping launch motor vehicles with them and covertly advancing to the designated posture location in preparation for missile launches,” the article study.

President Vladimir Putin ordered the drills previously this month in a go he reported was made to deter armed service involvement in Ukraine by the West.

— Karen Gilchrist

The previous commander of Russia’s 58th Army, who past yr decried the remedy of the armed service personnel on the battlefield, was arrested on suspicion of big scale fraud, TASS news agency reported Tuesday.

Main Typical Ivan Popov was ordered by the country’s navy courtroom to be detained for two months, TASS stated. Popov’s attorney said he had appealed the detention, Reuters reported Interfax as indicating.

“The ex-commander of the 58th Guards Put together Arms Military, Ivan Ivanovich Popov, was arrested on suspicion of fraud,” the agency’s interlocutor reported, in accordance to TASS.

Final July, Popov mentioned he was dismissed following a 4-minute audio information emerged, in which he outlined important shortcomings in Russia’s defenses and reported they had caused mass casualties between his troops on the battlefield in Ukraine.

— Karen Gilchrist

The Kremlin explained Tuesday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s most recent appeal for extra Western aid and involvement in the conflict is because of to Ukraine’s “exceptionally unfavorable” problem on the battlefield.

“Several representatives of the Kyiv routine and Zelenskyy himself have been making quite a few statements in recent times, from time to time in fact slipping into hysterics. This is because of to the very unfavorable position of the forces of the Kyiv regime at the fronts,” Kremlin Push Secretary Dmitry Peskov claimed, in responses translated by NBC Information.

“This is also owing to the really difficult predicament in which the Ukrainian military services finds alone, inspite of all the promised help. The] [supplies- are not as regular as hoped for. And most importantly, there is a growing understanding that even if this rhythm of military supplies is restored, this will still not allow the Ukrainian Armed Forces to change the dynamics at the fronts. This understanding is growing and it does not add confidence or balanced judgment to the Kiev regime representatives,” he added.

Peskov’s comments come after Zelenskyy told Reuters Monday that he was trying to get Ukraine’s partners more directly involved, asking them to help intercept Russian missiles and to allow Ukraine to use Western weapons against Russian military equipment at the border and targets inside Russian territory.

He said he understood they were wary of antagonizing Russia, however. “It’s a question of will,” Zelenskyy told the news agency. “But everyone says a word that sounds the same in every language: everyone is scared of escalation.”

Zelenskyy told Reuters that the situation on the front lines had stabilized in the last week, though he conceded that Ukraine’s forces had been in a more difficult position after Russia launched a new offensive in the northeast.

— Holly Ellyatt

Finland called on the European Union to help prevent what it calls “instrumentalized” or “weaponized” migration at its border with Russia.

Finland has closed its borders with Russia in recent months, accusing the country of deliberately sending undocumented asylum seekers to its border in order to try to destablize the country, a new NATO member. Moscow denies the accusation.

On Tuesday, the Finnish government submitted a proposal to parliament on a new border security law that would allow border agents to prevent migrants who are seen as “instruments of influence” from entering from Russia.

“It is the government’s duty to ensure the security of the borders, Finland and Finns in all situations,” Prime Minister Petteri Orpo told a news conference, in comments reported by Reuters.

“Unfortunately the EU legislation does yet not provide us with effective tools to tackle the problem. I hope our work will pave the way for European level solutions,” he added.

— Holly Ellyatt