Air forces from 14 countries will take part in a NATO nuclear exercise over the UK this week as tensions with Russia and the West intensify.
The “highly sensitive” event, dubbed Steadfast Noon, tests the ability of allies to drop atomic bombs from warplanes.
US B52 bombers and fighter jets from Belgium and Germany – capable of carrying B61 bombs – will fly over the UK, the North Sea and Belgium, NATO said.
The annual training, starting tomorrow, is going ahead despite rising fears President Vladimir Putin might consider a real nuclear strike in Ukraine.
Satellite images reveal he has moved 11 Tu-160 bombers close to the Finnish and Norwegian borders. And he has repeatedly warned the West his threats of a nuclear attack are “not a bluff”. NATO’s nuclear arsenal stands at 4,178 weapons and Russia’s at 5,977.
Unusually, NATO chose to highlight in advance the fact the exercise was coming up – in a bid to ensure transparency and reduce the risk of any misunderstanding about the top-secret and highly sensitive exercise.
Yesterday, Ukraine faced more missile strikes. One seriously damaged a key energy facility close to Kyiv as the Russian military attempted to cut water and power supplies in populated areas.
After a week of heavy bombing, President Putin has said most designated targets had been hit, adding that it was not his aim to destroy Ukraine.
He said: “There’s no need for massive strikes. We now have other tasks.”
And he said Moscow’s goal of mobilising 300,000 men to fight in Ukraine would be met within two weeks. But British intelligence suggested Russian reservists are having to buy their own body armour.
The MoD said “endemic corruption and poor logistics” remained a cause of Russia’s “poor performance” in Ukraine. It declared: “Many reservists are likely required to purchase their own body armour, especially the 6B45 vest.”
