The Russian Defense Ministry recently announced that the military would be holding drills involving tactical nuclear weapons, marking the first time such an exercise has been made public by Moscow. Tactical nuclear weapons are smaller in scale compared to the larger intercontinental ballistic missiles used to destroy entire cities, with yields as small as 1 kiloton. These weapons, such as aerial bombs, warheads for short-range missiles, or artillery munitions, can be discretely carried on trucks or planes due to their compact size.
Unlike strategic nuclear weapons, which have been limited by arms control agreements between Russia and the United States, tactical nuclear weapons have never been restricted by such pacts. Russia has not disclosed specific details regarding the number or types of tactical nuclear weapons in its possession. Russian President Vladimir Putin has highlighted Moscow’s nuclear capabilities since the start of the invasion of Ukraine, as a way to deter Western nations from increasing military support to Kyiv.
Putin has emphasized Russia’s nuclear arsenal as a means of protecting the country and its statehood. While some have called for Putin to sharpen his warnings regarding nuclear weapons to force the West to take them more seriously, Putin has maintained that there is no situation in which Russian statehood would be threatened, and that the use of nuclear weapons against Russia would be illogical. The deployment of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus last year was seen as a countermeasure against perceived Western threats, with both Putin and Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko linking the move to decisions made by Western governments related to Ukraine.
The move to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, an ally of Russia, was intended to provide easier and quicker access to potential targets in Ukraine and other NATO member states, particularly those in Eastern and Central Europe. The weapons remain under Russian military control, with Belarusian pilots and missile crews trained to use them. This deployment has extended Russia’s capability to strike multiple NATO allies, and comes as part of Moscow’s efforts to counter perceived threats from the West. As the situation in Ukraine continues to evolve, the role of tactical nuclear weapons in Russia’s military strategy and political messaging remains a topic of ongoing concern and debate.
