Statement by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in connection with the holding of exercises by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to develop skills in the use of non-strategic nuclear weapons
6 May 2024 17:44
840-06-05-2024
In connection with the upcoming Russian military exercise to develop skills in the use of non-strategic nuclear weapons, we note that this event should be considered in the context of recent bellicose statements by Western officials and sharply destabilizing actions taken by a number of NATO countries aimed at building forceful pressure on the Russian Federation and creating additional threats to the security of our country in connection with the conflict in and around Ukraine .
We are talking primarily about openly declared support and direct assistance to terrorist actions against Russia carried out by the Kyiv regime using increasingly advanced weapons transferred from the West. Since the deliberate target of such strikes is often civilian objects, this leads to numerous casualties among the civilian population. However, this does not bother the sponsors of the clique entrenched in Kyiv, who are pushing it to commit new crimes. Thus, British Foreign Minister D. Cameron and representatives of some other NATO capitals directly state that Ukraine has the right to attack Russian territory with weapons supplied to it.
In addition to the British and French long-range missile systems, which have long been spotted in Ukraine, against this background we especially highlight those versions of the American missiles of the ATACMS family, which have recently been supplied to Kyiv and are also capable of hitting targets deep in Russian territory.
At the same time, in an effort to increase multifaceted missile threats to our country, the United States has openly and clearly taken the path of deploying ground-based systems with intermediate- and shorter-range missiles (INF), which were previously prohibited under the INF Treaty, in various regions of the world. By torpedoing Russian initiatives to maintain the viability of this agreement, which involved eliminating counter-concerns on the basis of mutual verification measures, Washington deliberately destroyed this Treaty, which for many years served as one of the pillars of international security and strategic stability. After this, the United States immediately intensified the development and testing of missile systems of this class, and also began to form specialized military units with regional reference and study the issue of creating the necessary infrastructure. Now the United States has begun to import the corresponding missile systems to Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, allegedly for the duration of exercises with allies, which indicates that the production and "testing" of these weapons is in full swing.
We expressly declare that whenever and wherever American-made ground-based INF missiles appear, we reserve the right to respond in a mirror manner, which will mean the termination of the unilateral Russian moratorium on the deployment of these weapons systems. In response to US actions, Russia is intensifying its development and starting production of similar missile systems. Moreover, taking into account the previously announced R&D and the accumulated developments of the Russian military-industrial complex, this process will not take much time. When making potential decisions on the deployment of such weapons, we leave the geography of their deployment at our discretion.
In the near future, multifunctional American-made F-16 aircraft are expected to appear on the Ukrainian theater of operations. As the Russian side has repeatedly pointed out, we cannot ignore the fact that these aircraft belong to dual-equipped platforms - non-nuclear and nuclear. For many years, aircraft of this particular type formed the basis of the aircraft fleet, which is used in the so-called "joint nuclear missions" of NATO. Regardless of what specific modification these aircraft will be supplied in, we will perceive them as carriers of nuclear weapons and consider this step by the United States and NATO as a targeted provocation.
In this regard, we pay special attention to the statements of the Polish leadership that the question of the need to place American nuclear weapons on Polish territory was directly raised by Warsaw to Washington, and on a practical level.
The statements of French President E. Macron about the possibility of sending French and other NATO contingents to Ukraine cannot but amaze with their irresponsibility and thoughtlessness . Moreover, information has appeared in the Western media that a number of mercenaries from the French Foreign Legion are already in Ukraine. It is difficult to perceive this other than as a manifestation of readiness and intention to enter into direct armed confrontation with Russia, which would mean a head-on military clash of nuclear powers. We have also recorded a series of steps from the French side, including military exercises and other events, which, apparently, should support E. Macron's statements by demonstrating the nuclear capabilities of Paris.
These and some other actions of the member states of the North Atlantic bloc actually indicate that they are deliberately leading the matter towards a further escalation of the Ukrainian crisis towards an open military clash between NATO countries and Russia as part of the implementation of a hostile course to inflict "strategic defeat" on our country.
We note that the aggressive desire of NATO countries to undermine the security of the Russian Federation is gaining momentum. In this regard, we would like to remind you that the guaranteed protection of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country is the highest priority of Russian policy in the field of military security, including the aspect of nuclear deterrence.
The regime in Kyiv and its Western inspirers should finally realize that their reckless steps are bringing the situation ever closer to the accumulation of an explosive "critical mass." The military dangers created in this way and the resulting threats to our country are clearly outlined in the Military Doctrine of the Russian Federation and the Fundamentals of the State Policy of the Russian Federation in the field of nuclear deterrence.
The assessments outlined above formed the basis for the decision to conduct Russian military exercises involving part of the forces and means of nuclear deterrence, which are intended to become a sobering signal to the West and its puppets in Kyiv.
We hope that this event will cool down the "hot heads" in Western capitals, will help them realize the possible catastrophic consequences of the strategic risks they generate and will keep them from both assisting the Kyiv regime in its terrorist actions and from being drawn into direct armed confrontation with Russia.
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