“We are in the phase of open confrontation. Let’s build a missile arsenal.” Russia wants to scare the West

Russia is preparing for a new military exercise it plans to hold in its Southern Military District, which will include preparation for the deployment and use of tactical nuclear weapons, according to Reuters. This was announced by the Russian Ministry of Defense on Monday. The air force and naval forces will participate in the exercise. According to Moscow, part of the preparations also includes building a missile arsenal to deter the West from a possible strike.

According to the ministry, the aim of the exercise is to ensure Russia’s security. The maneuvers will focus on ensuring Russia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty “in response to provocative statements and threats by some Western officials against the Russian Federation,” the ministry said.

President Vladimir Putin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine has sparked the worst deterioration in relations between Russia and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, according to Russian and US diplomats. Russia has ramped up arms production and the United States estimates it will produce more artillery this year than all 32 NATO members combined, he writes Reuters.

“We are now at a stage of open confrontation, which I hope will not result in direct armed conflict,” Russian Ambassador for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Grigory Mashkov told state news agency RIA on the same day.

Accordingly, according to Mashkov, it will be necessary to take “further steps to strengthen the country’s defense capabilities, including building a missile arsenal, in order to deter a possible enemy from testing Russia’s power.”

The exercise will be held with the aim of increasing the level of readiness of the Russian non-strategic nuclear forces to carry out combat tasks, the TASS agency said, citing the Ministry of Defense. The exercise should take place in the near future and the missile formation of the Southern Military District will take part in it.

Exercise participants will perform a set of activities to practice the preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons, writes TASS. The exercise was ordered by President Vladimir Putin and will be attended mainly by forces stationed near Ukraine, the AFP agency writes.