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In a speech to commemorate the Defender of the Fatherland public holiday on Thursday and the day before the first anniversary of his invasion of Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia will continue to pay greater attention to bolstering its nuclear forces. Putin’s remarks come after he suspended a bilateral nuclear weapons control agreement with the US.
In reference to nuclear missiles located on land, sea, and the air, Putin said, “As before, we will give increased attention to strengthening the nuclear triad.”
Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles, a weapon capable of transporting numerous nuclear warheads, will be launched for the first time this year, according to Putin.
In remarks released by the Kremlin early on Thursday, Putin said, “We will commence mass supplies of sea-based Zircon hypersonic missiles and will continue mass production of air-based hypersonic Kinzhal systems.
On Friday, Russia and China are scheduled to start military drills in South Africa, and Russia has sent a frigate outfitted with the hypersonic weapons.
On the eve of the anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin sparred verbally, highlighting the tensions between the world’s two giants.
On Tuesday, Putin suspended the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) with the US, charging it of arming Ukraine and escalating the conflict to a global scale.
During a surpise trip to Kyiv on Monday, Biden asserted that the US and its NATO partners were defending freedom and democracy in Ukraine.
Although Biden called the suspension of START a “big error” on Wednesday in Warsaw, he added, “I don’t read into that that he’s thinking of using nuclear weapons or anything like that.”
According to a top Russian defense official, Moscow would continue to update Washington on changes to its deployments while adhering to the nuclear missile restrictions that had been agreed upon.
Biden pledged that the United States would “literally protect every inch of NATO” following meetings with the heads of NATO’s eastern flank in Warsaw. NATO is a military alliance that includes some Eastern European nations that border Russia.
According to the Kremlin, Sweden and Finland may soon join NATO, which would pose an existential danger to Russia.
The Ukraine War, the largest land battle in Europe since World War Two, has caused millions of people to be displaced, destroyed entire Ukrainian cities, towns, and villages, and disrupted the world economy.
On Wednesday, Antonio Guterres, the secretary-general of the UN, condemned Russia’s incursion as a breach of international law and the UN Charter as well as its threats to use nuclear weapons.
Putin said he would use nuclear weapons to protect Russia if necessary in two speeches he gave in September of last year.
“Implied threats to use nuclear weapons have been made. Nuclear weaponry should never be used in “tactical” situations. Stepping back from the edge is urgently necessary “”,” said Guterres.
Chinese Position
Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat, was welcomed to the Kremlin by Putin on Wednesday. He also declared that Chinese President Xi Jinping would visit Russia, adding that relations had hit “new frontiers.”
Although Xi is scheduled to deliver a “peace speech” on Friday, Ukraine maintains that there can be no discussion of peace as long as Russian troops are still stationed there.
Beijing could materially back Moscow’s war in Ukraine, which worries Washington.
According to Wang, China would “firmly adhere to an objective and impartial stance and play a constructive role in the political settlement of the problem,” according to the TASS news agency.
Through an interpreter, Wang claimed that China and Russia’s relationship was not intended at any particular country, specifically the US, but that the two nations would “not yield to pressure from third parties.”
In its “special military operation” to safeguard Russian security last year, Russia suffered three significant battlefield setbacks, and as a result, now commands nearly 5% of Ukraine.
The invasion has been referred to as an imperialistic land grab by Ukraine and its Western supporters.
Russian forces have been waging an offensive in eastern Ukraine over the past few weeks, but despite suffering significant casualties, they have made only modest progress.
The city of Avdiivka and Bakhmut city, the target of Russian advances in the eastern area of Donetsk, were reportedly subject to heavy shelling and fighting all the time, according to the Ukrainian military.
According to comments made by Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov on a YouTube video, Russian forces are continuing their strategy in Avdiivka of pushing in one direction, failing to progress, and then bringing in reserves to attempt in a different direction.
Only the amount of troops Russia is able to mobilize makes this feasible. They are unconcerned with their setbacks. Without much consideration for the associated costs, the goal is to weaken our situation.
Reuters was unable to confirm the battlefield story.
