Fresh tension in Europe as Russia conducts Nuclear Drills in readiness for tougher war

There is emerging tension in Europe over the increasing threat of deploying nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war as Russia’s strategic forces conducted drills on Wednesday, carrying out test launch of a ballistic missile from a submarine.

The drills conducted by Russia’s nuclear-capable forces was supervised by President Vladimir Putin of Russia, who had warned  Ukraine was developing a “dirty bomb.”

Russian foreign ministry had on Monday posted photographs of ostensible nuclear materials on social media, saying they reflected “Ukraine’s capacities to create the ‘dirty bomb.”

Slovenia, however, said on Wednesday that the photo came from its own nuclear waste management agency and dated to 2010.

Dragan Barbutovski, an advisor of Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob, said the picture depicted smoke detectors.

Russian state-run media ran footage of a submarine crew preparing the launch of a Sineva ballistic missile from the Barents Sea in the Arctic.

The drills also included launching test missiles from the Kamchatka peninsula in the Russian Far East.

In calls to Chinese and Indian correspondents, Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu continued to press his allegations that Ukraine planned to detonate “dirty bomb” — a crude, small weapon filled with radioactive, biological or chemical materials — which it would blame on Russia.

Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said that in his call with Shoigu, he “pointed out that the nuclear option should not be resorted to by any side as the prospect of the usage of nuclear or radiological weapons goes against the basic tenets of humanity.”