By Deutsche Welle
May 6, 2024, 10:25 PM EDT
The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, assumes his fifth term at the head of the Kremlin this Tuesday, after 24 years in power and with the unfinished business of winning the war in Ukraine, repressing any hint of popular discontent and resisting pressure from NATO and the West.
Russia announced on Monday that it would carry out nuclear exercises near Ukraine “in the near future.” and warned that its army could attack British military equipment in that country, in response to statements by leaders of Western powers about a possible sending of soldiers.
Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, in February 2022, Putin has put the possibility of resorting to nuclear weapons on the table several times.
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced in a statement the organization of exercises “to train in the preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons,” which can be used on the battlefield and fired at missiles.
On May 7, Vladimir Putin will begin his new term as head of state of Russia. Let’s remember the highlights of the Russian president’s previous inauguration ceremonies. pic.twitter.com/8mXDqXO2lA
— RT in Spanish (@ActualidadRT) May 7, 2024
Moscow rejects “threats” from the West
The Kremlin affirmed that these exercises are a response to “threats” from leaders of Western powers about the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov singled out French President Emmanuel Macron, whose rhetoric he called “very dangerous,” as did statements by senior British and American leaders.
Last week, Macron reiterated his position on a possible sending of troops to Ukraine “if the Russians broke the front lines, if there was a Ukrainian request”, an issue he had already raised in February.
The official ceremony to begin Putin’s new term will take place at noon in the St. Andrew’s Hall of the Kremlin, which was built in the mid-19th century as the throne room of Tsar Nicholas I.
The controversial constitutional reform of 2020 allowed Putin, 71, to remove the legal obstacle that prevented him from remaining in the Kremlin until 2030.
Putin, who has been in power since 2000, won the presidential elections on March 17 with more than 87% of the votes, unprecedented result condemned by Western chancelleries since the elections were held without significant rivals for the ruler.
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