Russia edges closer to World War 3 as Kremlin confirms third stage of tactical nuclear tests

Russia’s defence ministry said it has begun the third stage of drills to practise the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons.

Soldiers from the Southern and Central military districts will train how to deploy dummy warheads for Iskander-M operational and tactical missile systems and covertly move them to launch sites, the defence ministry said.

Russia held the first stage of the drills in May and ally Belarus joined the second stage in June.

Moscow has said the United States and its European allies are pushing the world to the brink of nuclear confrontation by giving Ukraine billions of dollars worth of weapons, some of which are being used against Russian territory.

In a statement on the Telegram messaging app, a spokesperson from the defence ministry in Moscow said: “In accordance with the decision of the president of the Russian Federation, the third stage of the exercise of non-strategic nuclear forces has begun.

“The current stage of the exercise is aimed at maintaining the readiness of personnel and equipment of units of combat use of non-strategic nuclear weapons of Russia to perform combat missions.”

It comes as Ukraine’s air force said on Wednesday it shot down all 89 drones and one missile launched by Russia overnight in one of the war’s largest drone attacks.

Russia’s attack mainly targeted the central region of Kyiv where the local authorities said the air force shot down more than 40 drones.

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Since sending thousands of troops into Ukraine on February 24 2022, President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said Russia could use nuclear weapons to defend itself in extreme situations, comments that the West has dismissed.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said the United States was concerned also about advances by Russia in Ukraine, to which US security assistance would continue.

He said he was encouraged by Ukraine’s ability to recruit more people to beef up its own ranks.

“I applaud what the Ukrainians continue to do to make sure that they can hold their own,” he said. “The Ukrainians are very determined people.”

Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the RIA state news agency said any basis for dialogue with the United States on arms control can come only after Washington refuses confrontation with Russia.

She said: “At the same time, any hypothetical discussions on these topics can only be comprehensive with emphasis on eliminating key security problems, such as Nato’s aggressive expansion to the East.”