The US military has begun active work on the modernization of tactical nuclear weapons and their storage bases in European countries. This was stated on Wednesday, October 20, by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
"The United States of America, with the full support of its NATO allies, has stepped up work on the modernization of tactical nuclear weapons and their storage sites in Europe," Shoigu said at a joint board of the defense ministries of Russia and Belarus.
He clarified that "of particular concern is the involvement of pilots of non-nuclear member states of the bloc in exercises to work out the use of tactical nuclear weapons."
The head of the Defense Ministry stressed that the Russian side sees this as a direct violation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
Earlier, on September 15, the candidate for the post of permanent representative of the United States to NATO, Julianne Smith, called Russia the main military threat to NATO in the coming decade. At the same time, she noted that the alliance has managed to strengthen its capabilities to resist Moscow since 2014, but much remains to be done.
On July 28, Shoigu stated about the serious alarm caused by the growth of NATO's combat potential near the borders of Russia and Belarus. On June 23, he also noted that the alliance countries are practicing the transfer of troops to the borders of the Russian Federation and Belarus.
