The Kremlin has said it does not want to take part in what it described as Western exercises in “nuclear rhetoric” after reports suggested Russia was preparing to demonstrate its willingness to use nuclear weapons.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov’s remarks came after The Times newspaper on Monday claimed NATO had warned member states that Russia was set to hold a nuclear test on Ukraine’s borders.
The British newspaper reported the alliance had distributed an intelligence report alerting members and allies to the alleged threat.
The warning reportedly made direct mention of Russia’s nuclear-capable torpedo drone, Poseidon, dubbed the “weapon of the apocalypse”.
The newspaper also said Russia had moved a train thought to be linked to a unit of the defence ministry that was responsible for nuclear munitions.
In a separate report, the Reuters news agency on Tuesday quoted an unnamed Western official as saying that there were no indications of unusual activity surrounding Moscow’s nuclear arsenal.
“We have not seen any indicators or activities that we would think are out of the norm. We have not seen activity which is beyond the usual for the sorts of activities that are conducted by those elements of the Russians’ strategic forces,” said the official.
