Ukraine accuses Russia of ‘nuclear blackmail’ after Putin orders nuclear weapons drills

Ukraine accuses Russia of “nuclear blackmail” over weapons testing

Russia’s plans to conduct tactical nuclear drills are nothing more than its continuing nuclear blackmail, Ukraine’s military spy agency spokesperson said on Monday.

“We do not see here anything new, except for the information effect and statements… Nuclear blackmail is a constant practice of Putin’s regime,” Andriy Yusov told national TV.

The German ambassador to Russia has been recalled for consultations after Berlin accused Moscow of launching cyberattacks on its defence and aerospace firms and ruling party, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry said on Monday.

Ambassador Alexander Graf Lambsdorff will return to Berlin in line with diplomatic protocol, the spokesperson said, three days after Russia’s envoy was summoned in protest over a campaign Berlin says was launched two years ago by a group linked to Moscow’s GRU military intelligence agency.

The accusations come at a time of heightened anxiety in Europe over suspected Russian hackers and spies since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and in the run-up to European elections.