Russia begins tactical nuclear weapon drills; Yellen says Ukraine need, not US election, is driving aid talks

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the US push to tap frozen Russian assets for Ukraine’s benefit wasn’t driven by the looming presidential election in November but by Kyiv’s needs.

A Russian general who said he was dismissed after criticising the scale of troop losses in Ukraine has been detained on fraud allegations.

Russia begins planned tactical nuclear drills in show of force

Russia started combat drills to practise the use of tactical nuclear weapons, a show of force to the US and its allies over President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.

Troops are training with Iskander missiles deployed on land launchers and aircraft equipped with hypersonic Kinzhal weapons for the previously announced exercises, Russia’s Defence Ministry said in a statement on its Telegram channel. The ministry didn’t specify for how long the training would continue.

Putin ordered the drills the day before he was sworn in this month for a fifth presidential term, in response to what Russia called “provocative” Western statements. That came after France raised the idea of sending ground troops to Ukraine and the UK said it would allow Kyiv’s forces to strike Russia with British-made weapons.

The Russian leader has repeatedly brandished the threat to use nuclear weapons since the start of his February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, drawing condemnation from the US and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies. Chinese President Xi Jinping, who hosted Putin at talks last week, has also warned in the past that the use of nuclear weapons is a red line for Beijing.

At a military parade commemorating the victory against Nazi Germany in World War 2 on May 9, Putin warned his country’s “strategic forces are always on combat alert”. In October, Russia rehearsed its ability to deliver a “massive” retaliatory nuclear strike.

Still, in March, Putin told the state-run RIA Novosti news service that there had never been a need to use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, and the thought had never crossed his mind.

Russia’s Southern Military District was conducting the drills, which included both ground and aviation forces, according to the Defence Ministry. Russian state TV broadcast footage of troops practising with missile systems on vehicles bearing the “Z” symbol that the country’s military has adopted during its war in Ukraine.

Tactical nuclear weapons refer to less powerful warheads that can be used on a battlefield, as opposed to strategic arms the US and Russia could launch at each other’s homeland using intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Yellen says Ukraine need, not US election, is driving aid talks

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the US push to tap frozen Russian assets for Ukraine’s benefit wasn’t driven by the looming presidential election in November but by Kyiv’s needs.

“I’ve been saying for a long time, not because of the election, but because Ukraine’s needs are very substantial, that it’s important to show that we have a way of channelling substantial additional aid to Ukraine,” Yellen told reporters on Tuesday in Frankfurt, Germany.

She added that Group of Seven leaders would “hopefully” be able to endorse a plan now in the works at their summit in Apulia, Italy, from 13-15 June.

“It’s not that every detail needs to be worked out,” she said. It “would be very nice to be able to get, at the political level, an agreement on an approach.”

Read more: Germany warms to US plan to tap Russian assets for Ukraine

Discussions on how the US and its allies can tap the value of frozen Russian assets are expected to dominate meetings among Yellen and other G7 finance ministers in Stresa, Italy, starting on Thursday.

The US has proposed the group leverage the future revenue generated from about $280-billion in Russian central bank funds — most of which lies immobilised in Europe — to back a $50-billion aid package for Ukraine.

Earlier on Tuesday, in an interview with Sky News, Yellen said the plan “would essentially bring forward that flow of interest proceeds” that the assets were currently generating at the Belgium-based clearinghouse Euroclear.

In a step that could prove crucial to securing European backing, German officials have said they are ready to support the plan, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Yellen delivered a speech in Frankfurt on Tuesday on the importance of the Atlantic alliance in maintaining security and economic growth throughout the world. She also met with European banking executives to discuss ways to limit sanctions evasion by Russia, as well as efforts to combat terrorist financing.

Russia detains ‘Spartacus’ general who criticised troop losses

A Russian general who said he was dismissed after criticising the scale of troop losses in Ukraine has been detained on fraud allegations.

Major General Ivan Popov, whose call sign was “Spartacus”, was ordered held in custody for two months on charges of large-scale fraud by the 235th Garrison Military Court, according to the Interfax news service. The court decision was issued on 17 May, the agency reported on Tuesday.

Popov, who commanded Russia’s 58th army fighting in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, accused military chiefs of “treacherously” ousting him in July last year after saying he’d confronted them over shortcomings in combat operations. His removal emerged less than a month after the aborted revolt by Wagner mercenaries against the then defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, over the conduct of the war.

Zelensky discussed air defences with German foreign minister

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed the possibility of Germany providing his nation with additional air defence systems during a visit by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock to Kyiv.

Zelensky and Baerbock talked about Germany’s initiative to find additional air defences including the US-made Patriot system for Ukraine, according to a statement on Zelensky’s website.

This was the seventh visit by the German foreign-policy chief to Ukraine since the start of Russia’s large-scale invasion more than two years ago. Zelensky has repeatedly appealed to partners for more assistance as Russian forces exploit Ukraine’s lack of adequate cover from aerial strikes and missile barrages.

EU approves plan to use profits from frozen Russian assets

European Union member states on Tuesday approved a plan to use the profits generated by frozen Russian sovereign assets to support Ukraine’s recovery and military defence.

This move will provide Ukraine with as much as €3-billion this year, 90% of which will go to Ukraine’s military, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky wrote on the social media platform X.

The adoption of the proposal by EU affairs ministers in Brussels comes after months of haggling between member states amid worries about possible legal challenges, retaliation from Russia and risk to the stability of the euro.

Russian oil flows tick up as Moscow pivots from export curbs

Russia’s crude exports edged higher in the week to 19 May 19, as Moscow prepared to replace a ceiling on overseas shipments with a production limit favoured by its Opec+ partners.

An increase in cargoes from the country’s Baltic and Arctic terminals was mostly offset by a dip in flows from the Pacific oil ports, and the less volatile four-week average slipped for a second straight week.

Russia’s export goal for this month is more accommodating than April’s, as the Kremlin moves away from curbs on overseas shipments and
transitions to the deeper output cuts that will bring it into line with its peers next month. Opec+ oil ministers are due to convene on June 1 to discuss production policy and Russia, along with several other group members, is expected to decide whether to extend additional voluntary output cuts into the third quarter.

The gain in weekly flows came as Russia also raised refinery runs in the first half of May, as some of Rosneft’s refineries recovered from Ukrainian drone strikes earlier in the year, before another flurry of attacks that began on Friday. If run rates are maintained for the rest of the month, it would be the first increase in processing since December. Higher weekly export volumes more than offset another week-on-week decline in prices, driving a modest recovery in the value of Russia’s shipments. DM